University  Library 
University  of  Calif  ornia  •  Berkeley 


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ALGONQUIN  INDIAN  TALES. 

Illustrated.     12mo.     50  cents;  postage,  10  cents. 

STORIES  FROM  INDIAN  WIGWAMS  AND 
NORTHERN  CAMP  FIRES. 

Illustrated.     12mo.     50  cents;  postage,  10  cents. 

OOWIKAPUN;  or,  How  the  Gospel  Reached  the 
Nelson  River  Indians. 

Illustrated.     12mo.     50  cents;  postage,  10  cents. 

THREE  BOYS  IN  THE  WILD  NORTH  LAND. 

SUMMER. 

Illustrated.     12mo.     50  cents;  postage,  10  cents. 

WINTER  ADVENTURES  OF  THREE  BOYS 
IN  THE  GREAT  LONE  LAND. 

Illustrated.     12mo.     50  cents;  postage,  10  cents. 


EGRRTON  R.  YOUNG. 


BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN 


AMONG  THB 


CEEE  AND  SALTEAUX  INDIANS. 


EGERTON  EYEESON  YOUNG 

(MISSIONARY, 

WITH    AN    INTRODUCTION     By 
MARK   GUY  PEARSE. 


Oat  of  the  darkness  of  night 

The  world  rolls  into  the  light, 

It  IB  daybreak  everywhere."— Lour. 


THE  ABINGDON  PRESS 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


TO  THE 

FAITHFUL    AND     LOVING     WIFE 

WHO    SO   CHEERFULLY    AND    UNCOMPLAININGLY    FOR   YEARS 

SHARED   THE   HARDSHIPS    AND   TOILS 

OF   SOME    OF   THE    MOST   TRYING    MISSION    FIELDS; 

WHOSE     COURAGE     NEVER     FALTERE1*, 

A.ND 

VIIOSE   ZEAL   ABATED   NOT,    EVEN    WHEN    "  IN    PERILS  n   OF! 

FROM    HUNGER,    BITTER    COLD,    AND    SAVAGE    MEN  ; 

THIS      VOLUME       IS       DEDICATED, 

BY   HER   AFFECTIONATE 

HUSBAND. 


CONTENTS. 


FAGB 

Introduction 1 

CHAPTER  I. 

Indian  Evangelisation — New  Records  of  Work  done — Heroic  Efforts — 

The  Puritans— Brainerd— President  Grant's  Humane  Policy        .       5 

CHAPTER  II. 

Work  in  Canada — William  Case — James  Evans  and  his  Co-labourers 
in  the  Great  Lone  Land,  with  Sketches  of  Revs.  Peter  Jones,  John 
Sunday,  and  Henry  Steinheur 9 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Summons  to  the  Indian  Work— The  Decision — The  Valedictory 
Services — Dr.  Punshon — The  Departure — Leaving  Hamilton — St. 
Catherine's — Milwaukee  Custom-House  Delays — Mississippi— St. 
Paul's — On  the  Prairies — Frontier  Settlers — Narrow  Escape  from 
Shooting  One  of  our  School  Teachers — Sioux  Indians  and  their 
Wars — Saved  by  our  Flag— Varied  Experiences  ....  27 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Still  on  the  Route— Fort  Garry— Breaking  up  of  our  Party  of  Mission- 
aries—Lower Fort — Hospitable  Hudson's  Bay  Officials— Peculiari- 
ties— Fourteen  Days  in  a  Little  Open  Boat  on  Stormy  Lake 
Winnipeg — Strange  Experiences— Happy  Christian  Indian  Boat- 
mem — "  In  Perils  by  Waters  " 4] 

ft 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  V. 

MM 

Arrival  at  Norway  House — Our  New  Home — Rev.  Charles  String- 
fellow — Thunderstorm — Rev.  James  Evans — Syllabic  Characters 
invented — Difficulties  Overcome — Help  from  English  Wesleyan 
Missionary  Society — Extensive  Use  of  the  Syllabic  Characters — 
Our  People,  Christian  and  Pagan — Learning  Lessons  by  dear 
Experience — The  Hungry  Woman — The  Man  with  the  Two  Ducks 
— Our  First  Sabbath  in  our  New  Field — Sunday  School  and 
Sabbath  Services— Family  Altars 54 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Constant  Progress — Woman's  sad  Condition  in  Paganism — Illustra- 
tions— Wondrous  Changes  produced  by  Christianity — Illustrations 
—New  Year's  Day  Christian  Festival— The  Aged  and  Feeble 
Ones  first  remembered — Closing  Thanksgiving  Services  .  •  63 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Oxford  House  Mission — Visited  by  Canoe — Description  of  this 
Useful  Craft— Indian  Skill— Oxford  Lake— Dr.  Taylor— Edward 
Papanekis — Still  on  the  Trail  by  Birch  Canoe — Narrow  Escape 
from  being  Crushed  by  the  Ice — On  Stormy  Lake  Winnipeg — 
Pioneering  farther  North — Successes — "Show  us  the  Father,  and 
it  sufficeth  us  " — Christ  accepted  in  the  Place  of  Idols  .  .71 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Wild  North  Land— The  Two  Methods  of  Travel,  by  Canoe  and 
Dog-Train — The  Native  Dogs — St.  Bernard  and  Newfoundland 
Dogs— The  Dog  Sleds— The  Guide— The  Dog  Drivers— The  Long 
Journeys— Night  Travelling— Wondrous  Visions  of  the  Night  .  89 


CHAPTER  IX. 

On  the  Trail  with  the  Dogs  to  Fields  Ripe  for  the  Reaper — The  Place — 
The  Trip— The  Winter  Camp— The  bitter  Cold— Enduring  Hard- 
ness— Death  Shaking  Hands  with  us — Many  Days  on  the  Trail  .  101 


CONTENTS.  ~'          vii 


CHAPTER  X. 

PAOB 

Nelson  River — A  Demonstrative  Welcome — First  Religious  Service — 
A  Four  Hours'  Sermon— The  Chief's  eloquent  Reply— The  Old 
Man  with  Grandchildren  in  his  Wigwam — "Our  Father" — 
"Then  we  are  Brothers"— "Yes  "—"Then  why  is  the  White 
Brother  so  long  Time  in  coming  with  the  Gospel  to  his  Red 
Brother  ?  "—Glorious  Successes  .116 


CHAPTER  XI. 

A  Welcome  Accession — The  Rev.  John  Semmens — A  devoted  Young 
Missionary — First  to  reside  at  Nelson  River — In  Labours  and  in 
Perils  Oft— In  Journey  ings  Oft  by  Dog-Trains  together— The 
Centenarian  Old  Christian— William  Papanekis— His  Godly  Life 
and  wondrous  Translation  ,  .  .  -  .  125 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Rev.  James  'Evans,  the  peerless  Missionary — His  Journeys  by  Canoe 
and  Dog-Train — The  Cree  Syllabic  Characters,  his  Invention — 
Lord  Dufferin's  Words  concerning  him — His  Successes — His  Trials 
— Accidental  Shooting  of  his  Interpreter — Surrendering  himself 
to  the  Avengers — Adopted  into  a  Pagan  Family — Visit  to  England 
—Sudden  Death 137 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Sowing  and  Reaping — Beautiful  Incident — "  Help  me  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian ! " — Thirty  Years  between  the  Sowing  and  the  Reaping — 
Sorrowing,  yet  Stubborn,  Indians  induced  to  yield  by  the 
Expression,  "  I  know  where  your  Children  are  !"  .  .  .151 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

On  the  Trail  to  Sandy  Bar — Sleeping  on  the  Ice — Thievish  Esquimaux 
Dogs — Narrow  Escape  of  Jack — Joyous  Welcome — Society  formed 
— Benjamin  Cameron,  once  a  Cannibal,  now  a  Lay  Helper — Plum- 
pudding — A  striking  Instance  of  Honesty 163 


riii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

PAOB 

An  Indian  Lovefeast — Many  Witnesses — Sweet  Songs  of  Zion — The 
Lord's  Supper— Memoir  of  William  Memotas,  the  devoted  Chris- 
tian   172 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Varied  Duties — Christianity  must  precede  Civilisation — Illustrations 
— Experimental  Farming — Ploughing  with  Dogs — Abundance  of 
Fish — Visits  from  far-off  Indians — Some  come  to  disturb — Many 
sincere  Inquirers  after  the  Truth — "  Where  is  the  Missionary?" — 
Beren's  River  Mission  begun — Timothy  Bear — Perils  on  the  Ice  .  184 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Small-pox  Pestilence— Heroic  Conduct  of  Christian  Indians— Whites 
supplied  with  Provisions  by  Red  Men — The  Guide,  Samuel 
Papanekis — His  triumphant  Death — Nancy,  the  happy  Widow — 
In  Poverty,  yet  rejoicing 197 

CHAPTER  XVIIL 

A  Race  for  Life  in  a  Blizzard  Storm — Saved  by  the  marvellous  Intelli- 
gence of  Jack — "  Where  is  the  old  Man,  whose  Head  was  like  the 
Snowdrift?" 211 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Work  Outside  the  Pulpit — Polygamy  and  its  Evils— Family  Re- 
arrangements— Dangerous  Work  at  Times — Practical  Pastoral 
Duties — A  Fish  Sermon — Five  Men  won  to  Christ  .  .  .  223 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Exploring  New  Fields— The  Gospel  before  Treaties— Big  Tom's  noble 

Spirit  of  Self-sacrifice 239 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

The  Mission  among  the  Salteaux  established — Nelly's  Death — Mis- 
sionary Anniversaries  attended — Rev.  Thomas  Crosby — Travelling 
Adventures — More  Working  with  Dogs — Our  New  Home — Visit 
from  a  Chieftainess — Closing  Words 252 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAQB 

PORTRAIT   OF  THE   AUTHOR Frontispiece 

DOG-TRAIN   AT   FULL  SPEED xii 

REV.    JOHN   SUNDAY 18 

REV.    HENRY   STEINHEUR 22 

JONAS,    SAMSON,    PAKAN 25 

PORTRAIT   OF   MRS.    YOUNG 28 

REV.    WILLIAM   YOUNO 31 

A   PRAIRIE   SCENE 35 

ROVING   INDIANS   AND   HALF-BREEDS 43 

AN   INDIAN   CANOE    BRIGADK  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .51 

FAT   DUCKS •  •  .59 

"MANY  A  DUCK  WAS  SHOT  BY  THESE   YOUNG  INDIAN    MAIDENS  "  .      67 

TAKING   THE   BARK   FROM   THE   TREES   FOR   CANOE  MAKING     .  .73 

"AS  THE   DOCTOR   WAS    AN    ENTHUSIASTIC   FISHERMAN*'          .  .  .79 

«'  WITH    HIS  LIGHT   CANOE   HE   CAN   GO   ALMOST   EVERYWHERE  "     .  .91 

"HERE  THE  BLACK  BEARS  ARE  VERY  NUMEROUS"      ....  113 

"WE  EXCHANGED  OUR  BLACK  CLOTHES  FOR  OUR  LEATHER  SUITS  "  .  127 
"WE  HAVE  LOOKED  DEATH  IN  THE  FACE  TOGETHER  MANY  TIMES  "  .  133 
"  NO  RIVER  SEEMED  TOO  RAPID,  AND  NO  LAKE  TOO  STORMY  "  .  .  139 
CREE  SYLLABIC  ALPHABET 148 


x  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAQB 

THE  LORD'S  PRAYER 149 

"SOME  CAME  IN  THEIR  SMALL  CANOES  " 187 

I. — NOTHIJSO  BUT  THE  HIND  QUARTER  OF  A  WILD  CAT  FOR  BREAK- 
FAST.   OFF  LOOKING  FOR  GAME 192 

II. — SIX  HUNDRED  YARDS  IS  A  LONG  SHOT,  BUT  WILD  CAT  IS  POOR 

FOOD,  AND  SO  WE  WILL  TRY  FOR  SOMETHING  BETTER       .        .193 
III. — COME,  SHARE  WITH  ME  OUR  SAVOURY  VENISON         .        .        .195 

DOG-TRAIN  WITH  MAIL          .         .         . 199 

REV.  EDWARD  PAPANEKIS  AND  FAMILY 201 

FISHING  THROUGH  THE  ICE 207 

CHRISTIAN  INDIAN'S  BARN,  SCUGOG  MISSION 209 

PAGAN  INDIAN  CEREMONIES  AT  A  DOG  FEAST 213 

SEA  RIVER  FALLS,  NEAR  NORWAY  HOUSE 237 

INDIAN  COUNCIL 241 

A  YOUNG  INDIAN   WITH   HIS   CANOE   AT   THE  FOOT   OF  THE  RUDE 

WATER  SLIDE 247 

TOILING  ALONG  ON  SNOW-SHOES  THROUGH  THE  WOODS  .  259 


BY   CANOE   AND    DOG-TRAIN 


AMONG  THE 


CREE  AND   SALTEAUX  INDIANS. 


INTKODUCTION. 


jll~Y  friend,  Mr.  Egerton  R.  Young,  has  asked  me  to 
1TX  wrjte  a  few  words  of  preface  to  his  book.  Although 
he  needs  no  words  of  mine  to  introduce  him  to  the  people 
"at  home"  as  the  Canadians  call  the  Motherland,  I  very 
gladly  comply  with  his  request. 

It  was  on  a  sunny  day  in  the  early  part  of  May,  1887, 
that  I  met  Mr.  Young  away  at  Meaford  on  the  shores 
of  Georgian  Bay.  We  passed  the  river, — crowded  with 
boys  and  men  snatching  with  leaded  hooks  at  the  mullet 
that  were  swarming  in  shoals  from  Lake  Huron, — along 
by  the  wharves  to  the  water's  edge,  and  there  on  the 
pebble  ridge  we  sat  and  talked.  A  simple,  honest,  straight- 
forward  Methodist  preacher,  one  felt  at  home  with  him 
at  once.  I  found  that  he  had  been  a  Missionary  for  many 
years  amongst  the  Cree  and  Salteaux  Indians  away  in 
"  the  Lone  Land."  I  had  but  to  ask  a  question  here  and 
there  and  sat  entranced ;  the  people,  the  country,  the 


xiv  INTRODUCTION. 

cold,  the  dogs,  the  bears,  the  whole  surroundings  of  the 
life  began  to  live  before  me,  and  with  many  a  wild  scene 
of  adventure,  and  many  a  wonderful  story  of  conversion, 
that  afternoon  sped  away, — for  me,  much  too  quickly, — 
and  ever  since  it  has  hung  up  in  "the  chambers  of  my 
imagery,"  amongst  its  most  vivid  and  most  treasured 
pictures. 

I  went  with  him  to  his  house  and  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Mrs.  Young,  his  brave  and  devoted  wife,  and  the 
children.  I  stood  on  a  mat  of  some  fur  which  interested 
me.  "  What  is  this  ?  "  I  asked.  My  host  laughed—"  A 
silver-grey  wolf :  a  mad  fellow  that  wanted  to  make  a 
meal  of  my  boy  Eddie,  and  but  for  God's  mercy  would 
have  done." 

And  then  began  another  story — how  that  as  with 
elephants  and  buffaloes  and  all  creatures  that  are  gregarious 
there  is  often  one  that  for  some  reason — or  want  of  it — 
lives  alone,  and  is  of  all  its  kind  the  most  mischievous  and 
most  dangerous — often,  perhaps  generally,  mad  ;  in  this 
case  it  was  a  wolf.  The  Indians  were  in  the  forest  cutting 
wood  for  the  winter,  and  the  little  lad  with  his  train  of  dogs 
enjoyed  the  drive  in  the  sledge  to  and  fro,  bringing  home  the 
load  of  wood,  or  racing  back  in  the  empty  sledge.  It  was  as 
the  boy  was  returning  that  out  of  the  forest  rushed  the  fierce 
beast,  and  raced  beside  him,  trying  to  reach  him  on  the 
pile,  whilst  the  frightened  dogs  galloped  furiously  onward 
to  the  Mission  House.  A  moment's  delay,  an  upset,  and 


INTRODUCTION.  xv 

the  wolf  must  have  had  the  lad,  but  in  God's  providence 
he  reached  home  in  safety.  A  little  afterward  the  wolf 
was  killed,  and  here  was  its  silver  fur  resting  in  front  of 
the  fireplace.  Everything  suggested  some  new  question, 
and  that  led  to  some  new  story.  At  last  I  had  to  leave 
for  my  service,  and  tnen  home  by  a  long  row  across  the 
lake.  But  before  we  parted  I  got  a  promise  that  Mr. 
Young  would  come  to  England  and  tell  the  people  "at 
home"  the  story  of  his  Mission. 

I  felt  that  he  could  do  for  us  a  work  that  needed  to  be 
clone,  and  that  few  could  do,  in  renewing  the  popular  interest 
in  foreign  missionary  enterprise.  I  had  hoped  that  the 
Missionary  Society  might  have  utilised  him  for  deputation 
work,  and  have  sent  him  through  the  country  on  this 
errand.  This  hope,  however,  has  not  been  fulfilled.  But 
not  the  less  service  has  been  rendered  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Young,  as  they  have  gone  from  place  to  place  interesting 
and  thrilling  tens  of  thousands  by  the  records  of  their 
great  success  and  of  God's  blessing  amongst  the  Indians. 

It  is  said  that  "  men  who  make  history  do  not  write  it." 
Years  amongst  the  dog-trains  and  birch  canoes  do  not 
afford  much  room  for  practising  the  art  of  writing, 
especially  when  six  months  had  to  intervene  before  re- 
ceiving any  communication  from  the  "world  of  letters." 
If  Mr.  Young's  written  narrative  has  not  the  force  and 
charm  of  his  spoken  addresses,  is  it  not  true  of  every- 
thing that  is  worth  hearing  when  it  loses  the  voice  of 


xvi  INTRODUCTION. 

the  speaker  ?  But  in  spite  of  this  we  are  quite  sure  that 
thousands  will  be  thankful  to  have  in  a  permanent  form 
that  which  Mr.  Young  has  given  them  here  ;  and  that  very 
many  others  will  be  glad  to  read  what  they  could  not 
hear.  My  earnest  wish  is  that  the  book  may  have  the 
circulation  it  deserves ;  my  prayer  is  that  it  may  be  made 
th«  blessing  which  its  author  desires. 

MARK   GUY    PEARSE 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  AMERICAN  EDITION. 


THERE  is  none  among  the  nature-peoples  of  the  world 
that  retain  quite  the  same  degree  of  fascination  for"  civ* 
ilized  races  as  do  the  red  Indians  of  America. 

Their  independence  and  love  of  liberty  preserved  this 
continent  from  slavery  until  the  white  man  introduced  it, 
and  have  sustained  them  in  resisting  the  encroachments  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  in  one  long  war  of  independence  continued 
through  centuries.  They  have  seen  their  natural  heritage 
gradually  wrested  from  them,  and  have  laid  themselves 
down  to  die,  within  an  ever-narrowing  area  ;  but  they  have 
not  been  conquered.  They  have  peristied,  they  have  not 
surrendered.  This  lofty  characteristic  has  challenged  the 
admiration  of  their  enemies,  and  even  of  those  who  would  "civ- 
ilize them  off  the  face  of  the  earth."  Added  to  this  manly 
love  of  liberty  is  a  strong  poetic  element,  which  has  pre- 
served an  interest  in  them  among  lettered  peoples.  There 
is  no  other  uncultured  race  which  could  have  furnished  the 
basal  structure  of  so  beautiful  a  poem  as  Hiawatha.  A  con- 
comitant of  this  poetic  cast  is  simple,  artless  eloquence,  which 


2  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  AMERICAN  EDITION. 

not  unfrequently  lias  risen  among  these  races  to  great  height, 
and,  though  not  so  long  sustained,  is  otherwise  equal  to  the 
loftiest  oratory  of  the  best  Senates  of  the  world. 

But  in  dealing  with  these  Indian  tribes  there  is  always 
present  to  the  conscientious  Anglo-Saxon  the  question  of 
the  possible  elevation  of  such  rude  natures  as  these  Cree  and 
Saltaux  Indians.  Our  efforts  as  a  nation  to  solve  this  prob- 
lem are  among  the  parts  of  our  national  history  which  are 
least  creditable  to  us.  We  have  made  sad  work  of  what  we 
style  governing  them.  Our  treatment  of  them  in  times  of 
peace  has  been  as  little  complimentary  to  us  as  our  treatment 
of  them  in  war,  and  the  supreme  folly  of  much  of  our  mil- 
itary conduct  in  dealing  with  them  is  symbolized  by  the 
summary  of  General  Grant  of  one  of  our  Indian  cam- 
paigns, "We"  spent  six  millions  of  dollars  and  killed  six 
Indians." 

The  transformation  of  these  natural  hunters  into  settled 
agriculturists,  and  the  introduction  among  them  of  the  amen- 
ities of  cultured  and  settled  society,  is  a  work  which  has  had 
but  very  moderate  success  from  the  standpoint  of  civil  gov- 
ernment. The  missionary  has  been  the  only  civilizer  of  these 
races.  But  the  further  interest  to  all  truly  Christian  people 
remains  in  the  inquiry  whether  these  rude  and  savage  people 
can  be  brought  to  any  worthy  apprehension  of  the  higher 
spiritual  phases  of  our  holy  religion.  May  a  soul  rise  from 
the  state  of  a  savage  to  the  experiences  of  a  saint  ?  Can  the 
enlightening  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  enable  these  ruder 
and  baser  people  to  come,  speedily,  to  appreciate  and  to  share 
in  the  most  delicate  distinctions  in  the  soul-life  of  those  who 
represent  centuries  of  Christian  culture  ? 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  AMERICAN  EDITION.       *  3 

I  have  referred  thus  to  a  few  topics  of  the  many  pertaining 
to  the  North  American  races  which  are  directly  or  indirectly 
treated  in  this  charming  tale  of  my  friend,  Rev.  Egerton  R. 
Young  of  Toronto,  Canada.  This  book  is  not  an  autobiog- 
raphy ;  but  the  above  and  many  other  important  topics  are 
presented  from  the  stand-point  of  the  author's  personal  ex- 
periences, arid,  as  a  consequence,  the  volume  has  all  the 
freshness  of  personal  adventure,  the  heroic  endurance  of 
exile  from  civilization,  including  the  communication  by  post 
but  twice  a  year,  and  the  homely  diet  of  fish  twenty-one 
times  a  week  for  six  months  together,  except  as  varied  at 
uncertain  intervals  with  wild  meat.  There  is  also  the  nov- 
elty of  life  incident  to  travel  and  exposure  and  various  ^forms 
of  danger,  all  of  which  give  an  interest  to  the  subject  under 
discussion. 

The  author  has  told  the  story  of  his  suffering,  his  toils  and 
his  triumphs,  substantially  as  they  are  presented  here,  to  vast 
audiences  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and  in  the  United 
States.  Tens  of  thousands  of  people  have  listened,  with  de- 
light that  scarcely  knew  bounds,  to  these  narratives  at  the 
great  gatherings  of  the  International  Missionary  Union  at 
Thousand  Island  Park ;  and  at  the  Ocean  Grove  Camp 
Ground,  and  at  the  Chautauqua  Assembly.  These  will  be 
gratified  that  Mr.  Young  has  put  them,  in  this  more  enduring 
form.  During  the  past  two  winters  Mr.  Young  has  retold 
these  stories  in  the  towns  and  cities  of  Great  Britain,  and 
riveted  the  attention,  and  thrilled  with  enthusiasm,  vast  audi- 
ences in  Exeter  Hall.  The  secret  of  this  surpassing  and  sus- 
tained interest  in  this  "  oft-told  tale "  is  not  far  to  seek. 
The  story  told  over  and  over  retains  a  freshness  like  that  of 


4  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE'  AMERICAN  EDITION. 

the  breeze  in  the  tops  of  the  fir-balsams  of  this  far  north 
land,  not  only  from  facts  themselves,  but  because  Mr. 
Young's  simple  and  artless  eloquence  savors  of  that  of  the 
red  man  himself ;  and  one  listens,  as  children  at  hearth- 
stones listen  to  folk-lore. 

We  cannot,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  add  much  to  our  liter- 
ature like  this  volume,  for  circumstances  have  so  changed  as 
to  render  it,  impossible.  I  do  not  recall  a  contribution  to 
standard  literature  of  the  nature  of  this  book  in  a  score  of 
years.  I  am  sure  it  will  be  welcomed.  It  should  have  a  wide 
reading. 

Rev.  Egerton  R.  Young  and  his  estimable  wife  are  among 
my  personal  friends  ;  and  1  greatly  admire  their  heroic  endur- 
ance and  suffering  for  the  cause  of  Christ  in  the  extreme 
north-west  part  of  the  American  Continent.  It  affords  me 
pleasure  to  introduce  them  thus  to  those  of  my  personal 
friends  who  have  not  already  made  their  acquaintance,  and 
to  ask  that  they  be  very  "  highly  esteemed  in  love  for  their 

work's  sake.'9 

J.  T.  GRACEY. 
BUFFALO,  N.  Y.,  March  20,  1890. 


BY  CA10E  AND  DOG-TEAIN. 


CHAPTER  L 

INDIAN  EVANGELISATION — FEW  RECORDS  OF  WORK  DONE — HEROIC 
EFFORTS  —  THE  PURITANS  —  BRAIN  ERD  —  PRESIDENT  GRANT'S 
HUMANE  POLICY. 

"  Gather  the  harvest  in  : 
The  fields  are  white,  and  long  ago  ye  heard, 
Kinging  across  the  world,  the  Master's  word : 
*  Leave  no  such  fruitage  to  the  lord  of  sin ; 

Gather  the  harvest  in.'  " 

THE  question  of  evangelising  the  Indian  tribes  of  Korth 
America  is  one  that  has  been  more  or  less  prominent  before 
the  Christian  Churches  for  many  years.  In  the  prosecution  of 
this  work  some  of  the  noblest  of  God's  heroes  have  been  engaged, 
some  of  the  greatest  hardships  and  sufferings  have  been  endured, 
and  some  of  the  grandest  trophies  have  been  won. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Indian  missionary  biography  is  so 
limited.  But  few  are  the  "abiding  records,"  in  book  form,  of 
those  men  of  heroic  mould,  who  have  devoted  themselves  to  this 
department  of  missionary  toil. 

While  we  rejoice  that  we  have  the  biographies  of  Eliot, 
Brainerd,  and  a  few  others  of  the  early  missionaries,  who  so 
nobly  toiled,  and  not  in  vain,  among  the  swarthy  red  men  of  the 
forest,  we  cannot  but  regret  that  so  little  has  been  published  of 


6  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

such  Indian  missionaries  as  Evans,  Bundle,  McDougall,  Steinheur, 
and  others,  whose  daring,  patience,  endurance,  and  successful 
toil  would  make  their  biographies  as  thrillingly  interesting  and 
as  valuable  to  the  Church  as  those  of  Carey,  Judson,  Hunt,  or 
Morrison. 

These  missionaries  to  the  aborigines  of  the  American  con- 
tinent deserve  all  the  more  credit  from  the  fact  that  their  lives 
and  energies  were  devoted  to  the  benefit  of  what  is  generally 
considered  a  vanishing  people,  a  dying  race.  For  the  Indian, 
in  too  many  instances,  the  gospel  of  bullets  has  been  preached 
more  loudly  than  the  Gospel  of  love.  More  laws  have  been 
enacted  to  legislate  him  out  of  existence,  than  to  lift  him  up  into 
the  condition  of  a  loyal  citizenship,  and  the  enjoyment  of  a 
consistent  Christianity.  Very  humiliating  is  the  fact,  that  there 
are  in  these  so-called  Christian  lands  many  who,  forgetting  the 
doctrine  of  the  universal  brotherhood  of  humanity,  and  also  that 
of  the  universality  of  the  Atonement,  have  become  so  dwarfed 
and  prejudiced  in  their  minds  concerning  the  red  man  as  to  leave 
him  completely  outside  the  pale  of  humanity,  and  utterly  beyond 
the  reach  of  God's  mercy,  and,  with  dogmatic  assurance,  have 
declared  that  the  only  good  Indian  is  the  dead  Indian ;  or,  as  it 
was  once  brutally  expressed  to  me  by  a  military  officer :  "  Indians 
are  vermin  fit  only  for  extermination." 

It  is  a  cause  of  thankfulness,  that  while  ignorance,  or  terror, 
or  ambition,  or  greed,  has  caused  too  many  to  have  such  views, 
many  others  have  differed,  and  have  gone  to  work  to  do  the 
Indians  good ;  and  their  lives  have  not  been  complete  failures. 
Apart  from  the  efforts  made  by  the  priests  who  accompanied 
Cortez,  Pizarro,  and  other  military  adventurers,  very  early  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  priests  were  labouring  in  Florida,  and  in  the 
Eio  Grande  country,  for  the  conversion  of  the  natives,  and  they 
counted  their  converts  by  thousands  long  before  any  considerable 
settlement  of  English-speaking  people  had  been  formed  on  the 
Continent.  Then,  in  the  following  century,  the  story  of  the 
labours  and  hardships  of  the  Jesuits,  and  other  organisations  of 
the  Church  of  Rome,  among  the  Hurons  of  Canada,  the  Iroquois 
of  New  York,  the  Abenakis  of  Maine,  and  various  other  tribes, 


RECORDS  OF  WORK  DONE.  1 

as  narrated  in  the  eloquent  pages  of  Parkman's  fascinating 
histories,  reads  more  like  a  thrilling  romance  thau  as  the  sober 
recital  of  actual  facts. 

In  the  first  settlements  in  Maryland,  the  conversion  of  the 
Indians  was  a  subject  that  at  once  attracted  attention ;  and  the 
labourers  did  not  toil  in  vain.  In  the  Charter  given  to  the  band 
of  adventurers,  who,  in  the  year  1607,  fixed  upon  Virginia  as 
their  home,  these  words  occur.  They  were  ordered  to  "  use  all 
proper  means  to  draw  the  savage  and  heathen  people  to  the  true 
knowledge  and  service  of  God." 

Within  a  year  after  the  arrival  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  at 
Plymouth  Rock,  one  of  the  elders,  a  Mr.  Cushman,  in  writing 
back  to  his  friends  in  England,  referred  to  "  the  tractable  dis- 
position of  the  Indian  youths,  and  the  possibility  of  doing  them 
much  good."  Those  grand  and  sturdy  people,  who  for  conscience' 
sake  had  come  out  into  the  wilderness,  had  themselves  declared 
that  they  had  come  to  America  for  weighty  and  solid  reasons, 
among  which  was  this — that  they  might  be  used  for  the  "  propa- 
gation and  advancing  of  the  Gospel  and  kingdom  of  Christ."  In 
their  conscientious  way  they  set  about  the  fulfilment  of  these 
designs.  Of  the  wonderful  revivals  among  the  Indians,  under 
the  labours  of  the  Revs.  David  and  John  Brainerd,  a  good  deal 
has  been  written.  Their  consecrated  zeal  and  great  successes 
fired  anew  the  hearts  of  such  glorious  men  as  the  Wesleys, 
Whitefield,  and  Jonathan  Edwards.  An  eminent  writer  has 
declared  that  "the  work  of  God  among  the  Indians  at  that  period 
was  perhaps  without  parallel  in  heathen  Missions  since  the  days 
of  the  apostles."  David  Brainerd,  in  writing  of  the  wondrous 
work,  said :  "  The  power  of  God  seemed  to  descend  upon  the 
Indians  like  mighty  rushing  wind,  and  with  astonishing  energy 
bore  down  all  before  it.  Marvellous  were  the  results.  Old  men 
and  women  were  in  deep  distress  for  their  souls,  and  the  most 
stubborn  hearts  were  compelled  to  bow,  and  thousands  were 
happily  converted  to  God." 

So  deeply  impressed  was  John  Wesley  with  Brainerd's  work 
among  the  Indians,  that  we  find  in  the  fifth  volume  of  his  Works 
the  following  question  and  answer : 


8  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

"  QUESTION. — What  can  be  done  in  order  to  revive  the  work 
of  God  where  it  is  decayed  ? " 

"  ANSWER. — Let  every  preacher  read  carefully  over  the  '  Life 
of  David  Brainerd,'  etc." 

To  follow  and  record,  with  any  degree  of  completeness,  the 
work  carried  on  by  the  Churches  among  these  "  wards  of  the 
nations,"  would  be  interesting  and  a  labour  of  love,  but  it  would 
occupy  volumes.  Suffice  it  to  say,  ere  we  begin  to  make  fuller 
mention  of  the  Canada  work,  of  which  we  have  some  personal 
knowledge,  that  the  Churches  of  the  United  States  are  carrying 
on  a  grand  enterprise  with  increasing  vigour  and  encouraging 
success.  Excellent  schools,  like  those  at  Carlisle,  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  Hampton  Institute,  in  Virginia,  are  developing  noble  Chris- 
tian men  and  women,  who  are  giving  fresh  impetus  to  the  blessed 
work  of  lifting  up  these  -remnants  of  once  mighty  tribes  to  the 
enjoyment  of  true  religion  and  to  a  higher  plane  of  civilisation. 
It  is  also  an  encouraging  sign  of  the  times,  that  the  Government 
of  the  mightiest  republic  the  world  ever  saw  is  waking  up  to  its 
responsibility,  and,  as  if  to  atone  for  the  misdeeds  of  its  agents 
and  the  sad  blunders  of  the  past,  is  entering  on  a  new  career, 
resolved  that  justice,  although  long  delayed,  shall  yet  be  meted 
out  to  its  Indian  subjects. 

The  "  blood-and-iron "  policy  was  a  disgrace  to  American 
civilisation  and  to  our  common  Christianity.  The  effort  to  make 
the  Indian  "  decent  by  force  "  has  been  a  complete  failure.  The 
force  of  honest,  straightforward  example  will  do  vastly  more. 
By  right-thinking  people  General  Grant  deserves  ever  £o  be  held 
in  kindly  remembrance  for  his  "  peace  policy."  When  so-called 
friends  urged  him  to  make  a  change  in  it,  his  reply  was  charac- 
teristic of  the  man,  and  worthy  to  be  remembered :  "  If  the 
present  policy  towards  Indians  can  be  improved  in  any  way,  I 
will  always  be  ready  to  receive  suggestions  on  the  subject.  I  do 
not  believe  our  Creator  ever  placed  different  races  of  men  on  this 
earth  with  a  view  to  having  the  stronger  exert  all  his  energies 
in  the  extermination  of  the  weaker.  If  any  change  takes  place 
in  the  Indian  policy  of  the  Government  while  I  hold  my  present 
office,  it  will  be  on  the  humanitarian  side  of  the  question." 


CHAPTER   II. 

WORK  IN  CANADA — WILLIAM  CASE — JAMES  EVANS  AND  HIS  CO-LABOURERS 
IN  THE  GREAT  LONE  LAND,  WITH  SKETCHES  OF  REVS.  PETER  JONES, 
JOHN  SUNDAY,  AND  HENRY  STEINHEUR. 

FOR  many  years  the  Methodist  Church  of  Canada  has  taken 
a  deep  interest  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  Indian  tribes 
of  the  Great  Dominion.  For  a  long  time  its  efforts  we.re  but 
feeble,  and  the  results  proportionally  small.  In  the  year  1823 
an  impetus  was  given  to  the  work  by  the  conversion  of  an  Indian 
lad,  who  afterwards  became  the  Rev.  Peter  Jones,  a  devoted  and 
successful  Missionary  to  his  own  people.  When  this  Indian  lad 
first  stood  up  in  a  fellowship  meeting,  and  told  the  simple  story 
of  his  conversion,  the  presiding  elder,  the  Rev.  William  Case, 
shouted  out,  "  Glory  to  God  !  Now  is  the  door  opened  for  the 
work  of  conversion  in  his  nation." 

The  report  of  what  was  going  on  in  the  Old  Province  of  Upper 
Canada  fired  the  hearts  of  the  parent  Wesley  an  Missionary 
Society  in  England  \  and  in  the  year  1840  they  sent  out,  to  what 
was  then  known  as  the  Hudson's  Bay  Territories,  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Barnley,  Rundle,  and  others,  to  be  under  the  superintendence  of 
the  Rev.  James  Evans,  who  had  been  labouring  in  Upper  Canada, 
but  who  left  his  successful  work,  and  hurried  away  to  assume,  as 
desired,  the  leadership  of  that  heroic  band  which,  with  apostolic 
zeal,  was  about  to  enter  into  the  very  heart  of  this  then  unknown 
region. 

Mr.  Evans,  with  his  family,  travelled  all  the  way  from  Thunder 
Day,  on  Lake  Superior,  to  Norway  House  in  a  birch-bark  canoe, 
a  distance  of  many  hundreds  of  miles.  His  library  and  household 
effects  had  to  be  shipped  to  London,  England,  and  then  re-shipped 


10  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

on  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  vessel  to  York  Factory,  on  the 
western  side  of  Hudson's  Bay.  From  this  port  they  were  carried 
in  open  boats  up  a  dangerous,  toilsome  route  of  over  five  hundred 
miles.  Scores  of  times  they  had  to  be  unshipped  and  carried  on 
men's  shoulders  round  the  falls,  or  rapids,  of  treacherous,  dangerous 
rivers,  until  finally  they  reached  their  owner,  after  having  crossed 
the  Atlantic  twice,  and  travelled  altogether  a  distance  of  some 
twelve  thousand  miles;  many  months  having  been  taken  to 
perform  a  journey  which  now,  by  the  aid  of  rail  and  steamer, 
can  be  made  in  five  days. 

Grandly  and  well  did  Evans  and  Rundle  and  Barnley  toil. 
Their  names,  in  that  great  land,  are  still  fragrant  as  the  breath 
of  heaven.  Their  heroic  deeds  live  on,  their  faithful  words  are 
not  forgotten ;  and  to  this  day  there  still  remain  many  Indians 
who  were  rescued  from  paganism  by  their  faithful  labours ;  and 
the  "  Church  triumphant "  holds  a  goodly  company  who  have 
finished  their  course  with  joy. 

In  1854,  the  Indian  Missions  in  the  North-West  Territories 
were  transferred  from  the  English  Wesleyan  to  the  Canadian 
Methodist  Church.  The  appointments  for  that  year  were  as 
follows : — 

NORWAY  HOUSE,  LAKE  WINNIPEG, — Thomas  Hurlburt. 

OXFORD  HOUSE, — Robert  Brooking. 

LAC  LA  PLUIE, — Allen  Salt. 

EDMONTON  AND  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS, — Henry  Steinheur. 

Thomas  Hurlburt  was  of  a  family  that  gave  five  sons  to  the 
Methodist  ministry.  He  entered  the  ministry  in  1829,  and 
devoted  the  greater  part  of  his  long  ministerial  life  to  the  evaji- 
gelisation  and  civilisation  of  the  Indians — a  work  in  which  he 
was  very  successful. 

Robert  Brooking  also  deserves  honourable  mention.  Before 
coming  to  America,  Mr.  Brooking  was  a  missionary  of  the 
English  Wesleyan  CLurch.  For  years  he  lived  and  laboured  in 
Ashantee,  on  the  West  Coast  of  Africa.  His  health  failing  in 
the  excessive  heat  of  that  field  of  labour,  he  returned  home,  and, 
after  his  restoration,  came  to  Canada,  and  devoted  himself  to  the 
Indian  work.  Strange  to  say,  he  was  now  sent  to  the  coldest 


TOILERS  IN  THE  GREAT  LONE  LAND.  11 

field  in  the  world.  He  has  given  more  than  thirty  years  of 
faithful  service  to  the  Indian  work,  and  now,  after  long  years 
of  self-denying  toil,  is  enjoying  a  happy  and  contented  old  age, 
patiently  waiting  until  the  summons  shall  be  heard  to  "  come  up 
higher." 

Allen  Salt,  the  third  name  on  the  1854  list  of  appointments 
for  the  Great  Lone  Land,  is  a  pure  Indian,  one  of  the  first  converts 
of  missionary  toil.  He  is  a  man  of  commanding  appearance  and 
pleasing  address.  He  has  proved  himself  to  be  a  most  trust- 
worthy and  useful  brother,  respected  by  the  whites,  and  a  blessing 
to  his  own  people. 

Henry  Steinheur,  the  last  of  the  four,  was  also  a  pure-blooded 
Indian.  His  name  has  been  a  household  word  for  many  years 
in  and  beyond  Canadian  Methodism. 

A  poor  neglected  Indian  boy,  he  was  found  out  by  one  of  the 
missionaries,  and  induced  to  attend  a  mission  school.  His  pro- 
gress in  his  studies  was  rapid,  and  his  life  became  pure  and 
consistent.  A  fuller  record  of  him  will  be  found  farther  on. 
He  now  rests  from  his  labours.  Two  noble  sons  have  taken  up 
his  mantle,  and  are  giving  promise  of  doing  valiant  service  for 
the  Master. 

Time  and  space  would  fail  us,  if  we  should  attempt  to  enumerate 
the  long  list  of  good  men  and  true,  who  have  given  their  lives  to 
this  blessed  work. 

Dr.  Egerton  Ryerson  stated,  when  "in  age  and  feebleness 
extreme,"  at  the  Brampton  Conference,  in  1883,  that  the  happiest 
year  in  his  life  was  that  of  1826,  when  he  was  stationed  at  the 
Credit  as  a  missionary,  and  preached  and  toiled  a  good  deal 
among  the  Indians. 

Who,  that  ever  knew,  can  forget  Sha-wun-dais,  the  Rev.  John 
Sunday,  the  Indian  orator  and  the  Christian  gentleman  ?  How 
fresh  and  spontaneous  his  wit !  how  gentle  his  spirit !  how  over- 
whelming, at  times,  his  appeals  for  Missions  !  Then  there  was 
Solomon  Waldron,  who  cheerfully  gave  the  best  years  of  his  life 
to  the  Indian  work;  and  scores  of  others,  whose  record  is  on 
high,  and  whom  any  Church  might  feel  honoured  to  claim  as  her 
sons. 


12  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

"  They  climbed  the  steep  ascent  of  heaven, 

Through  peril,  toil,  and  pain. 
O  God,  to  us  may  grace  be  given 
To  follow  in  their  train  I  " 

Before  beginning  my  own  personal  narrative,  I  will  here  give 
brief  sketches  of  three  successful  native  Indian  missionaries — 
Peter  Jones,  John  Sunday,  and  Henry  Steinheur. 

\ 
THE  REV.  PETER  JONES. 

^ETER  JONES  was  born  on  the  heights  of  Burlington  Bay,  Canada 
West,  January  1st,  1802.  He  was  brought  up  by  his  Indian 
mother  in  the  customs  and  superstitions  of  her  people.  Foi 
fourteen  years  he  lived  and  wandered  about  the  woods  with  the 
wild  Indians  in  Canada  and  the  United  States. 

He  suffered  many  hardships  incident  to  wild  pagan  Indian 
life.  His  name  was  Kah-ke-wa-quon-a-by,  which  means  "  Sacred 
waving  feathers."  Like  all  other  Indian  lads,  he  was  taught  to 
use  the  bow  and  arrows,  and  afterwards  became  expert  with  the 
gun,  and  was  a  capital  canoeman  and  fisherman. 

In  1816  he  had  the  advantages  of  an  English  school,  and  was 
taught  to  read  and  write.  After  this  he  settled  among  the 
Mohawk  Indians.  In  1820  he  began  to  attend  church,  and  to 
think  favourably  about  the  Christian  religion.  But  when  he 
saw  the  whites  get  drunk,  quarrel,  fight,  cheat  the  poor  Indians, 
he  thought  the  Indian's  religion  was  the  best.  Though  a  wild 
Indian  youth,  he  never  fell  into  the  vice  of  drunkenness.  In 
1823  he  became  acquainted  with  Seth  Crawford,  an  earnest 
Christian  worker,  and  one  who  had  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  Indians.  His  piety  and  sympathy  for 
them  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  mind  of  Peter  Jones. 

Soon  after,  a  camp-meeting  was  held  in  the  township  of 
Ancaster  by  the  early  Methodists  of  those  days.  Many  were 
drawn  by  curiosity  to  visit  this  gathering.  Among  the  rest  this 
young  Indian  and  his  sister  Mary  came,  to  see  how  the  Methodists 
worshipped  the  Great  Spirit  in  the  wilderness. 

William  Case,  who  was  afterwards  justly  called  "  The  Apostle 


REV.  PETER  JONES.  13 

of  the  Indian  work  in  Canada,"  had  the  general  oversight  of 
the  camp-meeting.  With  him  were  associated  a  number  of 
ministers,  who  alternately  delivered  pointed  and  powerful  dis- 
courses from  the  preacher's  stand  to  the  large  multitudes  who 
gathered  in  from  many  miles  around.  Generally  three  sermons 
were  preached  each  day,  after  which  prayer  and  inquiry  meetings 
were  held,  at  which  the  unconverted  were  exhorted  to  a  personal 
acceptance  of  Christ.  Peter  Jones's  own  description  of  the  scene 
is  as  follows : — 

"  On  arriving  at  the  encampment  I  was  immediately  struck 
with  the  solemnity  of  the  people,  several  of  whom  were  engaged 
in  singing  and  prayer.  Some  strange  feeling  came  over  my  mind, 
and  I  was  led  to  believe  that  the  Supreme  Being  was  in  the 
midst  of  His  people,  who  were  now  engaged  in  worshipping  Him. 
"  We  pitched  our  tent  upon  the  ground  allotted  to  us  ;  it  was 
made  of  coarse  linen  cloth.  The  encampment  contained  about 
two  acres,  enclosed  by  a  brush  fence.  The  tents  were  pitched 
within  this  circle;  all  the  under-brush  was  taken  away,  whilst 
the  larger  trees  were  left  standing,  forming  a  most  beautiful 
shade.  There  were  three  gates  leading  into  the  encampment. 
During  each  night  the  whole  place  was  illuminated  with  fire- 
stands,  which  had  a  very  imposing  appearance  among  the  trees 
and  leaves.  The  people  came  from  different  parts  of  the  country, 
some  ten,  some  twenty,  and  some  even  fifty  miles,  in  their  waggons, 
with  their  sons  and  daughters,  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  them 
to  the  Lord  for  conversion.  I  should  judge  there  were  about  a 
thousand  persons  on  the  ground. 

"At  the  sound  of  the  horn  we  went  and  took  our  seats  in 
front  of  the  stand,  from  which  a  sermon  was  delivered.  After 
this  there  was  a  prayer-meeting,  in  which  all  who  felt  disposed 
took  part  in  exhorting  and  praying  for  penitents.  The  next 
day,  Saturday,  2nd  of  June,  several  sermons  were  preached,  and 
prayer-meetings  were  held  during  the  intervals. 

"  By  this  time  I  began  to  feel  very  sick  in  my  heart,  but  did 
not  make  my  feelings  known.  On  Sabbath,  there  was  a  great 
concourse  of  people  who  came  from  the  adjoining  settlements, 
and  many  discourses  were  delivered,  some  of  which  deeply  im- 


14  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

pressed  my  mind,  as  I  could  understand  most  of  what  was  said. 
I  thought  the  '  black-coats '  knew  all  that  was  in  my  heart,  and 
that  I  was  the  person  addressed.  The  burden  of  my  soul  began 
still  to  increase,  and  my  heart  said,  '  What  must  I  do  to  be 
saved  ? '  for  I  saw  myself  to  be  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and  in 
the  bond  of  iniquity.  The  more  I  understood  the  plan  of  salva- 
tion by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  more  I  was  convinced  of  the 
truth  of  the  Christian  religion  and  of  my  need  of  salvation.  In 
spite  of  my  old  Indian  heart,  tears  flowed  down  my  cheeks  at  the 
remembrance  of  my  sins.  I  saw  many  of  the  white  people  power- 
fully awakened,  and  heard  them  crying  aloud  for  mercy,  while 
others  stood  and  gazed,  and  some  even  laughed  and  mocked. 
The  meeting  continued  all  Monday,  and  several  discourses  were 
delivered  from  the  stand.  My  convictions  at  this  time  were  deep 
and  powerful.  During  the  preaching  I  wept  much.  This,  how- 
ever, I  endeavoured  to  conceal  by  holding  down  my  head  behind 
the  shoulders  of  the  people.  I  felt  anxious  that  no  one  might 
see  me  weeping  like  an  old  woman,  as  all  my  countrymen  consider 
this  beneath  the  dignity  of  an  Indian  brave.  In  the  afternoon 
of  this  day  my  sorrow  and  anguish  of  soul  greatly  increased,  and 
I  felt  as  if  I  should  sink  down  to  hell  for  my  sins,  which  I  saw 
to  be  very  great,  and  exceedingly  offensive  to  the  Great  Spirit. 
I  was  fully  convinced  that  if  I  did  not  find  mercy  from  the  Lord 
Jesus,  of  Whom  I  heard  much,  I  certainly  should  be  lost  for  ever. 
I  thought,  if  I  could  only  get  the  good  people  to  pray  for  me  at 
their  prayer-meetings,  I  should  soon  find  relief  to  my  mind,  but 
had  not  sufficient  courage  to  make  my  desires  known.  ,  O,  what 
a  mercy  that  Christ  did  not  forsake  me  when  my  heart  was  so 
slow  to  acknowledge  Him  as  my  Lord  and  Saviour  !  Towards 
evening  I  retired  into  the  solitary  wilderness  to  try  to  pray  to 
the  Great  Spirit.  I  knelt  down  by  the  side  of  a  fallen  tree. 
The  rattling  of  the  leaves  over  my  head  with  the  wind  made  me 
uneasy.  I  retired  further  back  into  the  woods,  and  then  wrestled 
with  God  in  prayer,  Who  helped  me  to  resolve  that  I  would  go 
back  to  the  camp  and  get  the  people  of  God  to  pray  for  me.  I 
went,  but  when  I  arrived  at  the  meeting,  my  fearful  heart  again 
began  to  hesitate.  I  stood  by  the  side  of  a  tree,  considering 


REV.   PETER  JONES.  II 

what  I  must  do,  whether  I  should  give  up  seeking  the  Lord 
altogether,  or  not. 

"  It  was  now  about  dusk.  Whilst  I  was  thus  hesitating  as  to 
what  to  do,  a  good  old  man,  named  Reynolds,  came  to  me  and 
said,  '  Do  you  wish  to  obtain  religion  and  serve  the  Lord  ? '  I 
replied.  *  Yes.'  He  then  said,  '  Do  you  desire  the  people  of  God 
to  pray  for  you  1 '  I  told  him  I  did,  and  that  was  what  I  had 
desired.  He  then  led  me  into  the  prayer-meeting.  I  fell  upon 
my  knees,  and  began  as  well  as  I  could  to  call  upon  the  name 
of  the  Lord.  The  old  man  prayed  for  me,  and  exhorted  me  to 
believe  on  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Who,  he  said,  had  died  for 
Indians  as  well  as  for  white  people.  Several  of  the  preachers 
prayed  for  me.  When  I  first  began  to  pray,  my  heart  was  soft 
and  tender,  and  I  shed  many  tears;  but,  strange  to  say,  some 
time  after  my  heart  got  as  hard  as  a  stone.  I  tried  to  look  up, 
but  the  heavens  seemed  like  brass.  I  then  began  to  say  to  myself, 
1  There  is  no  mercy  for  poor  Indian.'  I  felt  myself  an  outcast, 
a  sinner  bound  for  hell.  About  midnight  I  got  so  fatigued  and 
discouraged,  that  I  retired  from  our  prayer-meeting  and  went 
to  our  tent,  where  I  immediately  fell  asleep.  I  know  not  how 
long  T  had  slept  when  I  was  awakened  by  the  Rev.  E.  Stoney 
and  G.  Ferguson,  who  had  missed  me  at  the  prayer- meeting,  and 
had  come  with  a  light  to  search  for  me.  Mr.  Stoney  said  to  me, 
*  Arise,  Peter,  and  go  with  us  to  the  prayer-meeting,  and  get  your 
soul  converted.  Your  sister  Mary  has  already  obtained  the 
Spirit  of  adoption,  and  you  must  also  seek  the  same  blessing.' 

"  When  I  heard  that  my  sister  was  converted  and  had  found 
peace  (not  knowing  before  that  she  was  even  so  much  as  seeking 
the  Lord),  I  sprang  up  and  went  with  the  two  good  men,  deter- 
mining that  if  there  was  still  mercy  left  for  me,  I  would  seek 
until  I  found  it.  On  arriving  at  the  prayer-meeting,  I  found  my 
sister  apparently  as  happy  as  she  could  be.  She  came  to  me  and 
began  to  weep  over  me  and  to  exhort  me  to  give  my  heart  to  God, 
telling  me  how  she  had  found  the  Lord.  These  words  came  with 
power  to  my  poor  sinking  heart,  and  I  fell  upon  my  knees  and 
cried  to  God  for  mercy.  My  sister  prayed  for  me,  as  well  as 
other  good  people,  and  especially  Mr.  Stoney,  whose  zeal  for  my 


18  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

salvation  I  shall  never  forget.  At  the  dawn  of  day  I  was 
enabled  to  cast  myself  wholly  upon  the  Lord,  and  to  claim  tne 
atoning  blood  of  Jesus,  as  my  all  sufficient  Saviour,  Who  haa 
borne  all  my  sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  Cross.  That  very 
instant  my  burden  was  removed,  joy  unspeakable  filled  my  heart, 
and  I  could  say,  '  Abba,  Father.' 

"  The  love  of  God  being  now  shed  abroad  in  my  heart,  I  loved 
Him  intensely,  and  praised  Him  in  the  midst  of  the  people. 
Everything  now  appeared  in  a  new  light,  and  all  the  works  of 
God  seemed  to  unite  with  me  in  uttering  the  praises  of  the  Lord. 
The  people,  the  trees  of  the  woods,  the  gentle  winds,  the  warbling 
notes  of  the  birds,  and  the  approaching  sun,  all  declared  the 
power  and  goodness  of  the  Great  Spirit.  And  what  was  I  that 
I  should  not  raise  my  voice  in  giving  glory  to  God,  Who  had  done 
such  great  things  for  me  ! 

"  My  heart  was  now  drawn  out  in  love  and  compassion  for  all 
people,  especially  for  my  parents,  brothers,  sisters,  and  country- 
men, for  whose  conversion  I  prayed,  that  they  might  also  find 
this  great  salvation.  I  now  believed  with  all  my  heart  in  God 
the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  and  gladly  renounced  the 
world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil.  I  cannot  describe  my  feelings 
at  this  time.  I  was  a  wonder  to  myself.  0,  the  goodness  ot 
God  in  giving  His  only-begotten  Son  to  die  for  me,  and  thus  to 
make  me  His  child  by  the  Spirit  of  adoption!  May  I  never 
forget  the  great  things  He  has  done  for  me  on  the  glorious 
morning  of  the  5th  of  June,  1823  ! 

"Before  the  meeting  closed  on  this  Tuesday  a  fellowship- 
meeting  was  held.  The  Rev.  W.  Case  requested  all  those  who 
had  experienced  the  blessing  of  justification  to  stand  up,  and  a 
goodly  number  rose,  amongst  whom  were  my  sister  Mary  and 
myself.  When  Elder  Case  recognised  me,  he  exclaimed,  *  Glory  to 
God  !  there  stands  a  son  of  Augustus  Jones,  of  the  Grand  River, 
amongst  the  converts.  Now  is  the  door  opened  for  the  work  of 
conversion  amongst  his  nation  ! ' 

"  The  meeting  being  closed,  we  returned  home,  and  with  tears 
told  our  parents  what  the  Lord  had  done  for  us.  Our  simple 
story  affected  them  much ;  they  wept,  and  said  they  were  glad 


REV.   JOHN  SUNDAY.  11 

that  we  had  given  our  hearts  to  God,  and  exhorted  us  to  persevere 
in  the  good  way. 

"  A  few  days  after  this  the  evil  spirit  tempted  me  to  doubt  the 
reality  of  the  change  wrought  in  my  soul  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  but 
this  seemed  only  to  urge  me  to  seek  the  Lord  with  greater 
diligence.  I  searched  the  Scriptures,  prayed  much,  and  waited 
for  a  clearer  manifestation  of  His  work  on  my  heart.  One  day 
I  retired  to  a  grove  to  pray,  arid  whilst  thus  engaged,  all  my 
doubts  and  fears  were  dispersed,  and  I  was  enabled  to  receive 
the  witness  of  the  Spirit  bearing  witness  with  my  spirit  that  I 
was  a  child  of  God,  that  I  had  passed  from  death  unto  life,  and 
that  of  a  truth  a  good  work  was  begun  in  my  heart." 

THE  REV.  JOHN  SUNDAY. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  conversions  among  the  Indians  of 
Canada  was  that  of  JOHN  SUNDAY,  who  afterwards  was  so  well 
known  and  justly  beloved  in  Canada  and  England.  For  many 
years  after  his  conversion  he  was  employed  as  a  missionary 
among  his  own  people,  and  hundreds  were  converted  through 
nis  instrumentality.  He  was  very  much  sought  after  to  attend 
Missionary  Anniversaries.  Immense  crowds  gathered  wherever 
he  was  announced  to  speak.  There  was  at  times  a  marvellous 
pathos  in'  his  addresses,  and  his  audiences  were  often  moved  to 
tears  as  well  as  charmed  with  his  quaint  humour.  He  lived  a 
consistent  and  godly  life,  and  afforded  a  glorious  testimony  of 
the  Gospel's  power  to  lift  up  and  save  a  poor  ignorant,  drunken, 
pagan  Indian. 

The  account  of  John  Sunday's  conversion,  which  he  himself 
wrote  after  he  had  gone  to  school  and  acquired  a  partial  know- 
ledge of  the  English  tongue,  is  so  intensely  interesting  that  we 
give  it  here  in  his  own  quaint  broken  English,  which  will  give  a 
fair  idea  of  his  way  of  expressing  himself  in  his  inimitable 
addresses. 

"Brother  Scott  want  me  that  I  shall  write  my  conviction 
about  nine  years  ago.  First  is,  we  had  camped  at  Mr.  James 
Howard's  place  one  morning.  I  go  to  Mr.  Howard  to  get  some 

2 


18 


BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 


whisky ;  so  I  did  get  it  some.  After  I  took  it,  that  fire-water, 
I  feel  very  happy.  By-and-bye,  James  Farmer  he  says  to  me, 
'Do  you  want  go  see  them  Indians  at  Belleville?  They  want 


KEY.  JOHM    BUJSDAY. 


see  all  Indians.'  I  say  to  him,  '  Why  they  want  see  Indians  for! 
He  says  to  me,  '  Them  are  preachers  talk  about  God.'  So  I  went 
home  to  my  wigwam  to  tell  others :  and  wo  took  some  our 
blankets.  We  hire  with  them,  Mr.  Howard  with  his  team,  to 


REV.  JOHN  SUNDA  Y.  19 

take  us  at  Belleville.  We  got  there  about  nine  o'clock.  We 
have  no  chance  to  go  in  the  meeting-house :  so  we  went  to  the 
wood  pile ;  so  we  sit  there  all  day  in  the  wood  pile,  until  about 
five  o'clock  in  the  evening.  By-and-bye  them  came  out  from 
meeting-house ;  so  we  went  to  them,  and  shake  hands  with 
them.  About  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  went  to  meeting ;  I 
want  to  hear  them  very  much,  what  they  will  say  to  us.  By- 
and-bye  one  of  them  rose  up  talk  to  us ;  he  begin  talk  about  God, 
and  soul,  and  body ;  he  says  this  :  '  All  mankind  is  only  two 
ways  we  have  got  to  go  when  we  come  to  die ;  one  is  broad  way, 
and  other  is  narrow  way.  All  the  wicked  white  men,  and  wicked 
Indians,  and  drunkards  go  there ;  but  the  good  white  people  shall 
go  in  the  narrow  way ;  but  if  the  Indians  also  become  good,  and 
serve  the  Lord,  they  can  go  in  that  narrow  way.'  Then  now  I 
begin  think  myself;  I  begin  feel  bad  in  my  heart.  This  is,  I 
think,  I  am  one  to  go  in  that  broad  way,  because  I  had  hard 
drink  last  night.  My  father  and  my  mother  had  taught  me  this 
ever  since  when  I  was  little  boy,  *  All  the  Indians  shall  go 
where  sun  set,  but  the  white  people  go  in  the  Ish-peming.'  That 
I  had  trouble  in  my  heart.  Next  morning  again  they  had  talk 
to  us ;  so  they  went  off  from  us.  As  soon  as  they  went  off,  some 
them  Indian  says,  '  Let  us  get  some  more  whisky  to  drink  it. 
What  them  men  say  unto  us,  we  shall  not  do  so ;  we  must  do 
our  own  way.'  So  they  went  to  get  more  whisky.  So  I  take 
it  little  with  them ;  and  immediately  after  I  had  drunk  it,  I 
went  home,  me  and  Moses.  Is  about  seven  miles  to  our  house. 
All  way  along  the  road  I  thinking  about  these  two  ways.  Four 
nights  I  do  not  sleep  much.  On  Saturday  we  all  went  to  Belle- 
ville again.  There  I  saw  Brother  Case.  IJe  says  to  me,  '  How 
you  like  Peter  Jones'  talk? '  I  say  unto  him,  'Four  nights  I  do 
not  sleep  much.'  And  he  began  to  talk  about  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ.  O,  I  feel  very  bad  again ;  I  thought  this,  *  I  am  one  of 
devil  his  men,  because  I  so  wicked.' 

"On  next  Monday  we  all  went  home  again.  That  night  1 
thought  I  would  try  pray :  this  is  first  I  ever  did  intend  to  pray. 
I  do  not  know  hoy  to  pray — my  heart  is  too  hard-  ~  caiii^  say 
but  fev  words ,  L  say  tnL?  '  O  Lord,  J  i*p  ^ked,  I  am  wicked 


20  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

man,  take  me  out  from  that  everlasting  fire  and  dark  place' 
Next  morning  I  went  in  the  woods  to  pray;  no  peace  in  my 
heart  yet.  By-and-bye  I  went  to  other  Indians  to  tell  them 
about  what  them  men  had  said  unto  us  at  Belleville  ;  so  I  went 
home  again.  By-and-bye  we  went  to  cross  the  Bay  on  Sahgegwin 
Island.  So  Indians  come  there  on  Island.  By-and-bye  we  begin 
have  prayer-meeting  in  the  evening,  and  in  the  morning.  I  talk 
with  them  all  time.  I  had  boy  about  six  years  old ;  by-and-bye 
he  got  sick,  and  died.  I  felt  very  bad.  I  thought  this,  '  I  better 
not  stop  to  pray  to  God ; '  I  went  to  Belleville  to  all  them 
Methodist  men  to  come  on  Sahgegwin  Island  to  pray  for  us.  I 
asked  one  of  them  Methodist  men  for  glass  of  beer  to  comfort  in 
my  heart.  That  man  say  to  me,  '  Beer  is  not  good  for  you ; 
better  for  you  to  have  Good  Spirit  in  your  heart.'  None  them 
they  do  not  want  to  come  on  our  wigewaum.  So  I  went  home 
without  glass  of  beer.  So  we  have  prayer-meeting.  None  of  us 
had  religion  yet.  By-and-bye  I  went  to  quarterly  meeting  at 
Mr.  Ketcheson.  I  saw  one  man  and  one  woman  shouting;  I 
thought  they  were  drunk.  I  thought  this,  '  They  cannot  be 
drunk,  because  is  them  Christian :  must  be  something  in  them.' 
Brother  Bel  ton  he  preached  that  day :  he  says  this,  '  If  any  man 
be  great  sinner,  Lord  will  forgive  him,  if  only  believe  in  Him.' 
I  thought  this,  *  If  I  do  well,  maybe  God  will  forgive  me.'  About 
one  week  after  this,  another  quarterly  meeting  at  Seventown,  Mr. 
Dinge's  barn.  In  the  morning  they  had  lovefeast;  they  give 
each  other  little  bread  and  water ;  they  give  us  some  too,  that 
piece  and  bread  and  water.  I  do  not  know  what  they  do  it  for. 
When  I  took  it,  the  bread  had  stop  in  my  throat,  and  choke  me. 

0  how  I  feel  in  my  heart !     I  feel  very  sick  in  my  heart.     I 
think  this,  '  Surely  I  belong  to  devil,  because  the   Lord  bread 
choke  me  :  I  know  how  that  Great  Spirit  is  angry  with  me.'     I 
think  this  again,  *  I  do  not  know  what  must  I  do  to  be  save  my 
soul  from  that  everlasting  fire.'     I  thought,  *  I  will  try  again.' 
Take  another  piece  and  bread  not  that  the  Lord  bread,  but  some 

1  got  at  a  house.     I  did  swallow  it  down.     I  feel  worse  again, 
because  I  swallowed  down  that  bread.      0  how  I  feel  in  my 
heart  1     I  feel  like  this — if  I  in  under  the  water. 


REV.   HENRY  STEINHEUR.  21 

"  In  afternoon  we  went  to  prayer-meeting  in  the  Old  House, 
about  five  o'clock,  and  Peter  Jones  says  to  us,  '  Let  us  lift  up 
our  hearts  to  God.'  I  look  at  him ;  I  do  not  understand  him. 
I  think  this,  '  If  I  do  this — take  my  heart  out  of  my  body,  I 
shall  be  died.'  However,  I  kneel  down  to  pray  to  God.  I  do  not 
know  what  to  say  to  ask  for  religion ;  I  only  say  this :  *  0, 
Keshamunedo,  shahnanemeshim  ! '  '0  Lord,  have  mercy  on  me, 
poor  sinner  ! '  By-and-bye,  the  good  Lord  He  pour  His  Spirit 
upon  my  poor  wretched  heart ;  then  I  shout  and  happy  in  my 
heart.  I  feel  very  light,  and  after  prayer-meeting  I  went  to  tell 
Peter  Jones  how  I  feel  in  my  heart.  I  say  to  him  this,  '  I  feel 
something  in  my  heart.'  Peter  says  to  me,  '  Lord  bless  you  now.' 
0  how  glad  in  my  heart !  I  look  around,  and  look  over  other 
side  a  Bay,  and  look  up,  and  look  in  the  woods;  the  same  is 
everything  NEW  to  me.  I  hope  I  got  religion  that  day.  I  thank 
the  Great  Spirit  what  He  done  for  me.  I  want  to  be  like  the 
man  which  built  his  house  upon  a  rock.  Amen." 

Mr.  Sunday  lived  for  many  years  a  godly,  consistent  life, 
beloved  by  all  who  knew  him,  either  in  England  or  Canada,  and 
then  died  at  a  good  old  age.  His  end  was  joyous  and  triumphant. 
His  body  rests  in  the  beautiful  little  cemetery  at  Alnwick,  near 
Rice  Lake,  close  by  all  that  is  mortal  of  the  Rev.  William  Case, 
his  beloved  spiritual  father. 

THE  REV.  HENRY  STEINHEUB. 

One  of  the  most  devoted  and  successful  of  our  native  Indian 
missionaries  was  the  Rev.  HENRY  STEINHEUR. 

When  a  poor  little  pagan  child,  wretched  and  neglected,  he 
was  picked  up  by  the  Rev.  William  Case,  who  patiently  cared 
for  the  lad,  and  not  only  taught  him  the  simple  truths  of  Chris- 
tianity, but  also  laid  the  foundation  of  an  English  education, 
which  afterwards  became  so  extensive  that  many  a  white  man 
might  honestly  have  envied  him. 

As  the  boy  was  observed  to  be  the  possessor  of  a  very  musical 
voice,  Mr.  Case  selected  him  to  be  one  of  a  little  company  of 
native  children  with  whom  he  travelled  extensively  through 


22 


BY   CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 


various  parts  of  the  Northern  States,  where,  before  large  audiences, 
they  sang  their  sweet  Indian  hymns  and  gave  addresses,  and 
thus  showed  to  the  people  what  could  be  done  by  the  Indians, 


REV.  HESKY-   STEIXHEUR. 


who,  by  too  many,  were  only  considered  as  unmitigated  evils,  as 
quickly  as  possible  to  be  legislated  out  of  existence. 

In  one  of  the  cities  visited  by  Mr.  Case  and  his  Indian  boys, 
a  gentleman  named  Henry  Steinheur  became  so  interested  in  one 


REV.  HENRY  STEINIIEUR.  23 

of  the  bright,  clever  little  Indian  lads  that  he  made  an  offer  to 
Mr.  Case  that  if  the  little  fellow,  who  was  as  yet  only  known 
by  his  native  name,  would  take  his  name,  he  would  pay  all  the 
expense  incurred  in  his  securing  a  first-class  education.  Such  an 
offer  was  not  to  be  despised,  and  so,  from  that  time  forward,  our 
Indian  lad  was  known  as  Henry  Steinheur. 

When  the  lecturing  tour  was  ended,  after  some  preparatory 
work  in  the  Mission  school,  Henry  was  sent  to  Victoria  College  in 
the  town  of  Cobourg,  Canada.  Here  he  remained  for  some  years. 
He  was  not  only  a  first-class  student,  but  also  a  consistent,  devoted 
Christian.  Such  was  his  progress  in  his  studies  that  he  showed 
that  the  Indian  mind  is  as  capable  as  any  other  to  receive  and 
retain  a  first-class  education. 

With  great  pleasure,  many  years  after  his  college  days  were 
over,  I  heard  him  preach  a  capital  sermon  before  a  large  congre- 
gation containing  many  ministers.  Before  reading  his  text  in 
English  Mr.  Steinheur  read  it  in  Greek,  in  a  way  that  pleased 
the  most  learned  Greek  scholars  present,  although  even  then  he 
had  just  come  in  from  a  far-off  Indian  Mission,  where  for  years 
he  had  only  heard  the  native  dialect  spoken. 

After  his  college  life  was  ended,  he  devoted  himself  most 
thoroughly  to  missionary  work  among  his  own  people,  and  for 
over  forty  years  was  the  same  modest,  unassuming,  useful,  godly 
missionary.  When  I  went  to  Norway  House  I  found  that, 
although  he  had  been  away  for  years,  his  name  was  "like 
ointment  poured  forth."  Many  were  the  loving  inquiries  made 
of  me  concerning  him,  and  many  assured  me  that  he  had  been 
the  instrument  in  God's  hand  of  leading  them  out  of  the  dense 
darkness  of  their  old  sinful  lives  into  the  blessed  light  of  the 
Gospel. 

He  spent  the  last  years  of  his  useful  life  among  the  Cree  and 
Stoney  Indians  at  White  Fish  Lake  and  other  Missions  in  the 
great  Saskatchewan  country  of  the  Canadian  North- West.  He 
triumphantly  passed  from  labour  to  reward,  realising  in  his 
closing  hours  the  sustaining  power  of  that  Gospel  which  he  had 
faithfully  and  lovingly  preached  to  others.  Two  sons  have 
followed  in  his  footsteps. 


24  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

The  following  incident,  which  I  had  from  the  lips  of  Mr. 
Steinheur,  will  give  some  idea  of  the  steadfastness  of  some  of 
the  Indian  converts.  At  one  of  the  Missions  in  the  Saskatchewan 
country  the  Rev.  William  Rundle  was  very  much  owned  of  God 
in  the  conversion  of  a  band  of  Indians.  Circumstances  made 
it  necessary  for  Mr.  Rundle  to  return  to  England,  where,  at 
Wolverhampton,  in  a  happy  old  age,  he,  at  the  time  of  my 
writing,  still  lives.  For  several  years  the  Indians  at  that  place 
were  never  once  visited  by  a  missionary  or  teacher.  After  many 
days  of  weary  travelling  over  the  prairies,  Mr.  Steinheur  reached 
that  lonely  western  Indian  village.  He  told  me  that  the  hour 
for  camping  overtook  him  several  miles  from  the  village,  but  so 
anxious  was  he  to  be  with  the  people  among  whom  he  had  come 
to  labour,  and  to  end  his  journey  of  ten  weeks,  that  he  could  not 
bear  the  idea  of  camping  so  near  them ;  so  he  pushed  on  in  the 
evening  twilight,  ahead  of  his  party,  to  the  spot  where  he  saw 
the  wigwam  village  on  the  prairies.  When  he  drew  near  to  the 
outermost  wigwam,  which  was  a  large  one,  he  heard  singing,  and 
great  indeed  was  his  surprise  to  find  that  instead  of  its  being  the 
monotonous  droning  of  the  pagan  medicine-man  or  conjurer,  it 
was  a  good  Christian  tune,  and  one  with  which  he  was  very 
familiar. 

Soon  the  singing  ceased,  and  then,  after  a  little  pause,  a  clear 
manly  voice  began  to  pray.  For  a  time  the  prayer  seemed  to  be 
all  thanksgiving ;  and  then  there  went  up  an  urgent  request 
from  the  earnest  suppliant :  "  Lord,  send  us  another  missionary 
like  Rundle.  Lord,  send  us  a  missionary  to  teach  us  out  of  Thy 
word  more  about  Thyself  and  Thy  Son  Jesus."  Mr.  Steinheur 
said  he  was  thrilled  and  delighted,  and  so  he  lifted  up  the  hang- 
ing tanned  leather  skin  door  and  quietly  entered  in  and  bowed 
down  with  them  in  prayer.  When  they  arose  he  told  them  who 
he  was,  and  that  he  had  come  to  dwell  among  them  as  their 
missionary.  Great  indeed  was  their  joy  and  excitement.  They 
crowded  around  him,  and  some  of  them  kissed  him,  and  all 
welcomed  him  with  shouts,  and  tears  of  gladness,  as  though  he 
had  just  come  down  from  heaven  to  dwell  among  them. 
Anxious  to  know  as  to  the  people's  steadfastness  and  integrity 


JONAS. 


SAMSON. 


PAKAN. 


26  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

through  all  those  years  of  neglect,  when  the  Church  had  left  them 
alone,  surrounded  by  pagan  tribes,  without  a  missionary  or  reli- 
gious teacher,  I  said  to  Mr.  Steinheur,  "  Tell  me,  my  brother,  in 
what  state  did  you  find  them  as  regards  their  religious  life,  the 
observance  of  the  Sabbath,  and  their  religious  services  ? " 

"  Brother  Young,"  said  he,  "it  was  just  like  a  Conference 
change  of  ministers.  It  seemed  to  me  as  though  my  predecessor 
had  only  been  gone  two  or  three  weeks.  They  had  remembered 
the  Sabbath  days  and  had  kept  them.  They  had  not  neglected 
any  of  their  religious  services,  and  they  were  living  as  consistent 
lives  as  God's  dear  children  anywhere." 

The  accompanying  portraits  (p.  25)  are  of  three  of  the  Christian 
Indians  from  those  Western  Missions.  Jonas  is  a  Mountain 
Stoney,  Samson  and  Pakan  are  Crees.  Pakan  is  the  chief,  a 
worthy  successor  of  Maskepetoon,  who  was  so  foully  murdered  by 
JSTah-doos,  the  Blackfoot  chief,  and  the  story  of  whose  marvellous 
conversion  has  thrilled  so  many  hearts.  At  a  camp  fire  on  the 
western  prairies,  Maskepetoon  heard  read  the  beautiful  chapter 
which  contains  the  Saviour's  prayer  for  His  murderers:  "  Father, 
forgive  them;  for  they  know  not  what  they  do."  By  the  faithful 
missionary  this  was  held  up  as  the  example  which  must  be 
followed  by  all  those  who  would  be  real  Christians.  The  warlike 
chief  listened  in  amazement  to  these  requirements,  so  opposite  to 
the  revengeful  spirit  of  the  wild  Indian.  But,  after  he  had 
pondered  them  over,  he  decided  to  accept  them,  and  showed  the 
genuineness  of  his  conversion  a  few  days  after  by  forgiving  the 
murderer  of  his  only  son. 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE  SUMMONS  TO  THE  INDIAN  WORK — THE  DECISION — THE  VALEDICTORY 
SERVICES— DR.  PUNSHON— THE  DEPARTURE— LEAVING  HAMILTON— 
ST.  CATHERINE'S — MILWAUKEE  CUSTOM-HOUSE  DELAYS — MISSISSIPPI 
— BT.  PAUL'S — ON  THE  PRAIRIES— FRONTIER  SETTLERS — NARROW 
ESCAPE  PROM  SHOOTING  ONE  OP  OUR  SCHOOL  TEACHERS — SIOUX 
INDIANS  AND  THEIR  WARS— SAVED  BY  OUB  FLAG — VARIED 
EXPERIENCES. 

8EVERAL  letters  were  handed  into  my  study,  where  I  sat  at 
.^  work  among  my  books. 

I  was  then  pastor  of  a  Church  in  the  city  of  Hamilton. 
Showers  of  blessing  had  been  descending  upon  us,  and  over  a 
hundred  and  forty  new  members  had  but  recently  been  received 
into  the  Church.  I  had  availed  myself  of  the  Christmas  holidays 
by  getting  married,  and  now  was  back  again  with  my  beloved, 
when  these  letters  were  handed  in.  With  only  one  of  them 
have  we  at  present  anything  to  do.  As  near  as  I  can  remember, 
it  read  as  follows : — 

"  MISSION  ROOMS,  TORONTO,  1868. 
"REV.  EGERTON  R.  YOUNG. 

"  DEAR  BROTHER, — At  a  large  and  influential  meeting  of  the 
Missionary  Committee,  held  yesterday,'  it  was  unanimously 
decided  to  ask  you  to  go  as  a  missionary  to  the  Indian  tribes  at 
Norway  House,  and  in  the  North-West  Territories  north  of  Lake 
Winnipeg.  An  early  answer  signifying  your  acceptance  of  this 
will  much  oblige, 

a  Yours  affectionately, 

"  E.  WOOD, 
«  L.  TAYLOR." 


28  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

I  read  the  letter,  and  then  handed  it,  without  comment,  across 
the  table  to  Mrs.  Young — the  bride  of  but  a  few  days — for  her 
perusal.  She  read  it  over  carefully,  and  then,  after  a  quiet 
moment,  as  was  quite  natural,  asked,  "  What  does  this  mean  ? " 
"  I  can  hardly  tell,"  I  replied ;  "  but  it  is  evident  that  it  means 
a  good  deal." 

"  Have  you  volunteered  to  go  as  a  missionary  to  that  far-off 
land  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Why,  no.  Much  as  I  love,  and  deeply  interested  as  I  have 
ever  been  in  the  missionary  work  of  our  Church,  I  have  not 
made  the  first  move  in  this  direction.  Years  ago  I  used  to  think 
I  would  love  to  go  to  a  foreign  field,  but  lately,  as  the  Lord  has 
been  so  blessing  us  here  in  the  home  work,  and  has  given  us  such 
a  glorious  revival,  I  should  have  thought  it  like  running  away 
from  duty  to  have  volunteered  for  any  other  field." 

"Well,  here  is  this  letter ;  what  are  you  going  to  do  about  it  ?  " 

"  That  is  just  what  I  would  like  to  know,"  was  my  answer. 

"  There  is  one  thing  we  can  do,"  she  said  quietly ;  and  we 
bowed  ourselves  in  prayer,  and  "  spread  the  letter  before  the 
Lord,"  and  asked  for  wisdom  to  guide  us  aright  in  this  important 
matter  which  had  so  suddenly  come  upon  us,  and  which,  if  carried 
out,  would  completely  change  all  the  plans  and  purposes  which 
we,  the  young  married  couple,  in  all  the  joyousness  of  our  honey- 
moon, had  just  been  marking  out.  We  earnestly  prayed  for  Divine 
light  and  guidance  to  be  so  clearly  revealed  that  we  could  not 
be  mistaken  as  to  our  duty. 

As  we  arose  from  our  knees,  I  quietly  said  to  Mrs.  Young, 
"  Have  you  any  impression  on  your  mind  as  to  our  duty  in  this 
matter  ?  " 

Her  eyes  were  suffused  in  tears,  but  the  voice,  though  low,  was 
firm,  as  she  replied,  "  The  call  has  come  very  unexpectedly,  but 
I  think  it  is  from  God,  and  we  will  go." 

My  Church  and  its  kind  officials  strongly  opposed  my  leaving 
them,  especially  at  such  a  time  as  this,  when,  they  said,  so  many 
new  converts,  through  my  instrumentality,  had  been  brought  into 
the  Church. 

I  consulted  my  beloved  ministerial  brethren  in  the  city,  and 


MRS.  EGERTON  R.  YOUNG. 


THE  SUMMONS  TO  THE   WORK.  29 

with  but  one  exception  the  reply  was,  "  Remain  at  your  present 
station,  where  God  has  so  abundantly  blessed  your  labours."  The 
answer  of  the  one  brother  who  did  not  join  in  with  the  others 
has  never  been  forgotten.  As  it  may  do  good,  I  will  put  it  on 
record.  When  I  showed  him  the  letter,  and  asked  what  I  should 
do  in  reference  to  it,  he,  much  to  my  surprise,  became  deeply 
agitated,  and  wept  like  a  child.  When  he  could  control  his 
emotions,  he  said,  "  For  my  answer  let  me  give  you  a  little  of 
my  history. 

"  Years  ago,  I  was  very  happily  situated  in  the  ministry  in  the 
Old  Land.  I  loved  my  work,  my  home,  and  my  wife  passionately. 
I  had  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  my  people,  and  thought  I 
was  as  happy  as  I  could  be  this  side  heaven.  One  day  there 
came  a  letter  from  the  Wesleyan  Mission  Rooms  in  London, 
asking  if  I  would  go  out  as  a  missionary  to  the  West  Indies. 
Without  consideration,  and  without  making  it  a  matter  of  prayer, 
I  at  once  sent  back  a  positive  refusal. 

"  From  that  day,"  he  continued,  "  everything  went  wrong  with 
me.  Heaven's  smile  seemed  to  have  left  me.  I  lost  my  grip 
upon  my  people.  My  influence  for  good  over  them  left  me,  I 
could  not  tell  how.  My  once  happy  home  was  blasted,  and  in 
all  my  trouble  I  got  no  sympathy  from  my  Church  or  in  the 
community.  I  had  to  resign  my  position,  and  leave  the  place. 
I  fell  into  darkness,  and  lost  my  hold  upon  God.  A  few  years 
ago  I  came  out  to  this  country.  God  has  restored  me  to  the 
light  of  His  countenance.  The  Church  has  been  very  sympathetic 
and  indulgent.  For  years  I  have  been  permitted  to  labour  in 
her  fold,  and  for  this  I  rejoice.  But,"  he  added,  with  emphasis, 
"  I  long  ago  came  to  the  resolve  that  if  ever  the  Church  asked 
me  to  go  to  the  West  Indies,  or  to  any  other  Mission  field,  I 
would  be  careful  about  sending  back  an  abrupt  refusal." 

I  pondered  over  his  words  and  his  experience,  and  talked  about 
them  with  my  good  wife,  and  we  decided  to  go.  Our  loving 
friends  were  startled  at  our  resolve,  but  soon  gave  us  their 
benedictions,  united  to  tangible  evidences  of  their  regard.  A 
blessed  peace  filled  our  souls,  and  we  longed  to  be  away  and  at 
work  in  the  new  field  which  had  so  suddenly  opened  before  us. 


30  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

"  Yes,  we  will  go.    We  may  no  longer  doubt 
To  give  up  friends,  and  home,  and  every  tie. 
That  binds  our  heart  to  thee,  our  country. 

Henceforth,  then, 

It  matters  not  if  storms  or  sunshine  be 
Our  earthly  lot,  bitter  or  sweet  our  cup. 
We  only  pray,  God  fit  us  for  the  work, 
God  make  us  holy,  and  our  spirits  nerve 
For  the  stern  hour  of  strife.     Let  us  but  know 
There  is  an  Arm  unseen  that  holds  us  up, 
An  Eye  that  kindly  watches  all  our  path, 
Till  we  our  weary  pilgrimage  have  done. 
Let  us  but  know  we  have  a  Friend  that  waits 
To  welcome  us  to  glory,  and  we  joy 
To  tread  that  drear  and  northern  wilderness." 

The  grand  valedictory  services  were  held  in  the  old  Richmond 
Street  Church,  Toronto,  Thursday,  May  7th,  1868.  The  church 
nras  crowded,  and  the  enthusiasm  was  very  great.  The  honoured 
President  of  the  Conference  for  that  year,  the  Eev.  James  Elliott, 
who  presided,  was  the  one  who  had  ordained  me  a  few  months 
before.  Many  were  the  speakers.  Among  them  was  the  Rev. 
George  McT)ougall,  who  already  had  had  a  varied  experience  of 
missionary  life.  He  had  something  to  talk  about,  to  which  it 
was  worth  listening.  The  Rev.  George  Young,  also,  had  much 
that  was  interesting  to  say,  as  he  was  there  bidding  farewell  to 
his  own  Church  and  to  the  people,  of  whom  he  had  long  been 
the  beloved  pastor.  Dr.  Punshon,  who  had  just  arrived  from 
England,  was  present,  and  gave  one  of  his  inimitable  magnetic 
addresses.  The  memory  of  his  loving,  cheering  words  a^bode  with 
•is  for  many  a  day. 

It  was  also  a  great  joy  to  us  that  my  honoured  father,  the 
Rev.  William  Young,  was  \vith  us  on  the  platform  at  this 
impressive  farewell  service.  For  many  years  he  had  been  one 
of  that  heroic  band  of  pioneer  ministers  in  Canada  who  had  laid 
so  grandly  and  well  the  foundations  of  the  Church  which,  with 
others,  had  contributed  so  much  to  the  spiritual  development  of 
the  country.  His  benedictions  and  blessings  were  among  the 
prized  favours  in  these  eventful  hours  in  our  new  career. 

My  father  had  been  intimately  acquainted  with  William  Case 


REV.    WILLIAM    YOUNG.  31 

and  James  Evans,  and  at  times  had  been  partially  associated 
with  them  in  Indian  evangelisation.  He  had  faith  in  the  power 
of  the  Gospel  to  save  even  Indians,  and  now  rejoiced  that  he  had 
a  son  and  daughter  who  had  consecrated  themselves  to  this  work. 


EEV.  WILLIAM  YOUNG. 


As  a  long  journey  of  many  hundreds  of  miles  would  have  to 
be  made  by  us  after  getting  beyond  cars  or  steamboats  in  the 
Western  States,  it  was  decided  that  we  should  take  our  own 
horses  and  canvas-covered  waggons  from  Ontario  with  us.  We 


82  BY  CANOE  AND   DOG-TRAIN. 

arranged  to  make  Hamilton  our  starting-point ;  and  on  Monday, 
the  llth  of  May,  1868,  our  little  company  filed  out  of  that  city 
towards  St.  Catherine's,  where  we  were  to  take  passage  in  a 
"  propeller  "  for  Milwaukee.  Thus  our  adventurous  journey  was 
begun. 

The  following  was  our  party.  First,  the  Rev.  George  McDougall, 
who  for  years  had  been  successfully  doing  the  work  of  a  faithful 
missionary  among  the  Indians  in  the  distant  Saskatchewan 
country,  a  thousand  miles  north-west  of  the  Red  River  country. 
He  had  come  down  to  Canada  for  reinforcements  for  the  work, 
and  had  not  failed  in  his  efforts  to  secure  them.  As  he  was  an 
old,  experienced  Western  traveller,  he  was  the  guide  of  the  party. 

Next  was  the  Rev.  George  Young,  with  his  wife  and  son.  Dr. 
Young  had  consented  to  go  and  begin  the  work  in  the  Red  River 
Settlement,  a  place  where  Methodism  had  never  before  had  a 
footing.  Grandly  and  well  did  he  succeed  in  his  efforts. 

Next  came  the  genial  Rev.  Peter  Campbell,  who,  with  his 
brave  wife  and  two  little  girls,  relinquished  a  pleasant  Circuit 
to  go  to  the  distant  Mission  field  among  the  Indians  of  the  North- 
West  prairies.  We  had  also  with  us  two  Messrs.  Snyders,  brothers 
of  Mrs.  Campbell,  who  had  consecrated  themselves  to  the  work 
as  teachers  among  the  distant  Indian  tribes.  Several  other 
young  men  were  in  our  party,  and  in  Dacota  we  were  joined  by 
"Joe"  and  "Job,"  a  couple  of  young  Indians. 

These,  with  the  writer  and  his  wife,  constituted  our  party  of 
fifteen  or  twenty.  At  St.  Catherine's  on  the  Welland  Canal  we 
shipped  our  outfit,  and  took  passage  on  board  the  steamer  Empire 
for  Milwaukee. 

The  vessel  was  very  much  crowded,  and  there  was  a  good  deal 
of  discomfort.  In  passing  through  Lake  Michigan  we  encountered 
rough  weather,  and,  as  a  natural  result,  sea-sickness  assailed  the 
great  majority  of  our  party. 

We  reached  Milwaukee  on  Sabbath,  the  17th  of  May.  We 
found  it  then  a  lively,  wide-awake  Americo-German  city.  There 
did  not  seem  to  be,  on  the  part  of  the  multitudes  whom  we  met, 
much  respect  for  the  Sabbath.  Business  was  in  full  blast  in 
many  of  the  streets,  and  there  were  but  few  evidences  that  it  was 


ON  THE   WAY  TO   OUR  FIELD.  83 

the  day  of  rest.  Doubtless  there  were  many  who  had  not  denied 
their  garments  and  had  not  profaned  the  day,  but  we  weary 
travellers  had  not  then  time  to  find  them  out. 

Although  we  had  taken  the  precaution  to  bond  everything 
through  to  the  North- West,  and  had  the  American  Consular 
certificate  to  the  effect  that  every  regulation  had  been  complied 
with,  we  were  subjected  to  many  vexatious  delays  and  expenses 
by  the  Custom  House  officials.  So  delayed  were  we  that  we  had 
to  telegraph  to  head-quarters  at  Washington  about  the  matter ; 
and  soon  there  came  the  orders  to  the  over-officious  officials  to  at 
once  allow  us  to  proceed.  Two  valuable  days,  however,  had  been 
lost  by  their  obstructiveness.  Why  cannot  Canada  and  the 
United  States,  lying  side  by  side,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
devise  some  mutually  advantageous  scheme  of  reciprocity,  by 
which  the  vexatious  delays  and  annoyances  and  expense  of  these 
Custom  Houses  can  be  done  away  with  ? 

We  left  Milwaukee  for  La  Crosse  on  the  Mississippi  on  Tuesday 
evening  at  eight  o'clock.  At  La  Crosse  we  embarked  on  the 
steamer  Milwaukee  for  St.  Paul's.  These  large  flat-bottomed 
steamers  are  quite  an  institution  on  these  western  rivers.  Draw- 
ing but  a  few  inches  of  water,  they  glide  over  sandbars  where 
the  water  is  very  shallow,  and,  swinging  in  against  the  shore, 
land  and  receive  passengers  and  freight  where  wharves  are 
unknown,  or  where,  if  they  existed,  they  would  be  liable  to  be 
swept  away  in  the  great  spring  freshets. 

The  scenery  in  many  places  along  the  upper  Mississippi  is  very 
fine.  High  bold  bluffs  rise  up  in  wondrous  variety  and  picturesque 
beauty.  In  some  places  they  are  composed  of  naked  rock.  Others 
are  covered  to  their  very  summit  with  the- richest  green.  Here, 
a  few  years  ago,  the  war-whoop  of  the  Indians  sounded,  and  the 
buffalo  swarmed  around  these  Buttes,  and  quenched  their  thirst 
in  these  waters.  Now  the  shrill  whistle  of  the  steamer  disturbs 
the  solitudes,  and  echoes  and  re-echoes  with  wondrous  distinctness 
among  the  high  bluffs  and  fertile  vales. 

'«  Westward  the  Star  of  Empire  takes  its  way." 
We  arrived  at  St.  Paul's  on  Thursday  forenoon,  and  found  it 

a 


34  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

to  be  a  stirring  city,  beautifully  situated  on  the  eastern  side  of 
the  Mississippi.  We  had  several  hours  of  good  hard  work  in 
getting  our  caravan  in  order,  purchasing  supplies,  and  making  ;il! 
final  arrangements  for  the  long  journey  that  was  before  us.  For 
beyond  this  the  iron  horse  had  not  yet  penetrated,  and  the  great 
surging  waves  of  immigration,  which  soon  after  rolled  over  into 
those  fertile  territories,  had  as  yet  been  only  little  ripples. 

Our  splendid  horses,  which  had  been  cooped  up  in  the  holds  of 
vessels,  or  cramped  up  in  uncomfortable  freight  cars,  were  now 
to  have  an  opportunity  for  exercising  their  limbs,  and  showing  of 
what  mettle  they  were  made.  At  4  P.M.  we  filed  out  of  the  city. 
The  recollection  of  that  first  ride  on  the  prairie  will  live  on  as 
long  as  memory  holds  her  throne.  The  day  was  one  of  those 
gloriously  perfect  ones  that  are  but  rarely  given  us,  as  if  to  show 
what  earth  must  have  been  before  the  Fall.  The  sky,  the  air,  the 
landscape — everything  seemed  in  such  harmony  and  so  perfect, 
that  involuntarily  I  exclaimed,  "  If  God's  footstool  is  so  glorious, 
what  will  the  throne  be  ?  " 

We  journeyed  a  few  miles,  then  encamped  for  the  night.  We 
were  all  in  the  best  of  spirits,  and  seemed  to  rejoice  that  we  were 
getting  away  from  civilisation,  and  more  and  more  out  into  the 
wilderness,  although  for  days  we  were  in  the  vicinity  of  frontier 
villages  and  settlements,  which,  however,  as  we  journeyed  on, 
were  rapidly  diminishing  in  number. 

After  several  days'  travelling  we  encamped  on  the  western 
side  of  the  Mississippi,  near  w.'iere  the  thriving  town  of  Clear 
Water  now  stands.  As  some  of  mr  carts  and  travelling  equipage 
had  begun  to  show  signs  of  weakness,  it  was  thought  prudent  to 
give  everything  a  thorough  overhauling  ere  we  pushed  out  from 
this  point,  as  beyond  this  there  was  no  place  where  assistance 
could  be  obtained.  We  had  in  our  encampment  eight  tents, 
fourteen  horses,  aid  from  fifteen  to  twenty  persons,  counting  big 
and  little,  whites,  and  Indians.  Whenever  we  camped  our  horses 
were  turned  loose  in  the  luxuriant  prairie  grass,  the  only  pre- 
caution taken  being  to  "  hobble  "  them,  as  the  work  of  tying  their 
forefeet  together  is  called.  It  seemed  a  little  cruel  at  first,  and 
some  of  our  spirited  horses  resented  it,  and  struggled  a  good  deal 


INCIDENTS  BY  THE    WAT. 


35 


against  it  as  an  infringement  on  their  liberties.  But  they  soon 
became  used  to  it,  and  it  served  the  good  purpose  we  had  in  view — 
namely,  that  of  keeping  them  from  straying  far  away  from  the 
camp  during  the  night. 

At  one  place,  where  we  were  obliged  to  stop  for  a  few  days  to 
repair  broken  axle-trees,  I  passed  through  an  adventure  that  will 
not  pot  n  be  forgotten.  Some  friendly  settlers  came  to  our  camp, 


'      A    PUA1UIK   •  CKNE.     ' 

and  gave  us  the  unpleasant  information,  that  a  number  of  notori- 
ous horse-thieves  were  prowling  around,  and  it  would  be  advisable 
for  us  to  keep  a  sharp  look-out  on  our  splendid  Canadian  horses. 
As  there  was  an  isolated  barn  aboul  half  a  mile  or  so  from  the 
camp,  that  had  been  put  up  by  a  settler  who  would  not  require 
it  until  harvest,  we  obtained  permission  to  use  it  as  a  place  in 
which  to  keep  our  horses  during  the  nights  while  we  were 


86  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

detained  in  the  settlement.  Two  of  our  party  were  detailed  each 
night  to  act  as  a  guard.  One  evening,  as  Dr.  Young's  son  George 
and  I,  who  had  been  selected  for  this  duty,  were  about  start- 
ing from  the  camp  for  our  post,  I  overheard  our  old  veteran 
guide,  the  Rev.  George  McDougall,  say,  in  a  bantering  sort  of 
way,  "  Pretty  guards  they  are  !  Why,  some  of  my  Indian  boys 
could  go  and  steal  every  horse  from  them  without  the  slightest 
trouble." 

Stung  to  the  quick  by  the  remark,  I  replied,  "  Mr.  McDougall, 
I  think  I  have  the  best  horse  in  the  company ;  but  if  you  or  any 
of  your  Indians  can  steal  him  out  of  that  barn  between  sundown 
and  sunrise,  you  may  keep  him  ! " 

We  tethered  the  horses  in  a  line,  and  fastened  securely  all  the 
doors  but  the  large  front  one.  We  arranged  our  seats  where  we 
were  partially  concealed,  but  where  we  could  see  our  horses,  and 
could  command  every  door  with  our  rifles.  In  quiet  tones  we 
chatted  about  various  things,  until  about  one  o'clock,  when  all 
became  hushed  and  still.  The  novelty  of  the  situation  impressed 
me,  and,  sitting  there  in  the  darkness,  I  could  not  help  contrast- 
ing my  present  position  with  the  one  I  had  occupied  a  few  weeks 
before.  Then  the  pastor  of  a  city  Church,  in  the  midst  of  a 
blessed  revival,  surrounded  by  all  the  comforts  of  civilisation ; 
now  out  here  in  Minnesota,  in  this  barn,  sitting  on  a  bundle  of 
prairie  grass  through  the  long  hours  of  night  with  a  breech- 
loading  rifle  in  hand,  guarding  a  number  of  horses  from  a  band 
of  horse- thieves. 

"Hush!  what  is  that?" 

A  hand  is  surely  on  the  door  feeling  for  the  wooden  latch. 
We  mentally  say,  "  You  have  made  too^  much  noise,  Mi-.  Thief, 
for  your  purpose,  and  you  are  discovered."  Soon  the  door  opened 
a  little.  As  it  was  a  beautiful  starlight  night,  the  form  of  a  tall 
man  was  plainly  visible  in  the  opening.  Covering  him  with  my 
rifle,  and  about  to  fire,  quick  as  a  flash  came  the  thought,  "  Better 
be  sure  that  that  man  is  a  horse-thief,  or  one  intent  on  evil,  ere 
you  fire ;  for  it  is  at  any  time  a  serious  thing  to  send  a  soul  so 
suddenly  into  eternity."  So  keeping  my  rifle  to  my  shoulder,  J 
shouted  out,  "  Who's  there  1 " 


CAUSES  OF  INDIAN  WARS.  t7 

"  Why,  it's  only  your  friend  Matthew,"  said  our  tall  friend,  as 
he  came  stumbling  along  in  the  darkness ;  "  queer  if  you  don't 
know  me  by  this  time." 

As  the  thought  came  to  me  of  how  near  I  had  been  to  sending 
him  into  the  other  world,  a  strange  feeling  of  faintness  came  over 
me,  and,  flinging  my  rifle  from  me,  I  sank  back  trembling  like 
a  leaf. 

Meanwhile  the  good-natured  fellow,  little  knowing  the  risk  he 
had  run,  and  not  seeing  the  effect  his  thoughtless  action  had 
produced  on  me,  talked  on,  saying  that  as  it  was  so  hot  and  close 
over  at  the  tents  that  he  could  not  sleep  there,  he  thought  he 
would  come  over  and  stop  with  us  in  the  barn. 

There  was  considerable  excitement,  and  some  strong  words 
were  uttered  at  the  camp  next  morning  at  his  breach  of  orders 
and  narrow  escape,  since  instructions  had  been  given  to  all-  that 
none  should,  under  any  consideration,  go  near  the  barn  while  it 
was  being  guarded. 

At  another  place  in  Minnesota  we  came  across  a  party  who 
were  restoring  their  homes,  and  "  building  up  their  waste  places  " 
desolated  by  the  terrible  Sioux  wars  of  but  a  short  time  before. 
As  they  had  nearly  all  of  them  suffered  by  that  fearful  struggle, 
they  were  very  bitter  in  their  feelings  towards  the  Indians,  com- 
pletely ignoring  the  fact  that  the  whites  were  to  blame  for  that 
last  sanguinary  outbreak,  in  which  nine  hundred  lives  were  lost, 
and  a  section  of  country  larger  than  some  of  the  New  England 
States  was  laid  desolate.  It  is  now  an  undisputed  fact  that  the 
greed  and  dishonesty  of  the  Indian  agents  of  the  United  States 
caused  that  terrible  war  of  1863.  The  principal  agent  received 
$600,000  in  gold  from  the  Government,  which  belonged  to  the 
Indians,  and  was  to  be  paid  to  Little  Crow  and  the  other  chiefs 
and  members  of  the  tribe.  The  agent  took  advantage  of  the 
premium  on  gold,  which  in  those  days  was  very  high,  and 
exchanged  the  gold  for  greenbacks,  and  with  these  paid  the 
Indians,  putting  the  enormous  difference  in  his  own  pocket. 
When  the  payments  began,  Little  Crow,  who  knew  what  he  had 
a  right  to  according  to  the  Treaty,  said,  "Gold  dollars  worth 
more  than  paper  dollars.  You  pay  us  gold."  The  agent  refused, 


38  BY  CANOE  AND   DOG- TRAIN. 

and  the  war  followed.  This  is  only  one  instance  out  of  scores,  in 
which  the  greed  and  selfishness  of  a  few  have  plunged  the  country 
into  war,  causing  the  loss  of  hundreds  of  lives  and  millions  of 
treasure. 

In  addition  to  this,  these  same  unprincipled  agents,  with  their 
hired  accomplices  and  subsidised  press,  in  order  to  hide  the 
enormity  of  their  crimes,  and  to  divert  attention  from  themselves 
and  their  crookedness,  systematically  and  incessantly  misrepresent 
and  vilify  the  Indian  character. 

"  Stay  and  be  our  minister,"  said  some  of  these  settlers  to  me 
in  one  place.  "  We'll  secure  for  you  a  good  location,  and  will 
help  you  get  in  some  crops,  and  will  do  the  best  we  can  to  make 
you  comfortable." 

When  they  saw  we  were  all  proof  against  their  appeals,  they 
changed  their  tactics,  and  one  exclaimed,  "  You'll  never  get 
through  the  Indian  country  north  with  those  fine  horses  and  all 
that  fine  truck  you  have." 

"  O  yes,  we  will,"  said  Mr.  McDougall ;  "  we  have  a  little  flag 
that  will  carry  us  in  safety  through  any  Indian  tribe  in 
America." 

They  doubted  the  assertion  very  much,  but  we  found  it  to  be 
literally  true,  at  all  events  as  regarded  the  Sioux ;  for  when,  a 
few  days  later,  we  met  them,  our  Union  Jack  fluttering  from  the 
whip-stalk  caused  them  to  fling  their  guns  in  the  grass,  and 
come  crowding  round  us  with  extended  hands,  saying,  through 
those  who  understood  their  language,  that  they  were  glad  to  see 
and  shake  hands  with  the  subjects  of  the  "  Great  Mother  "  across 
the  waters. 

When  we,  in  our  journey  north,  reached  their  country,  and 
saw  them  coming  down  upon  us,  at  Mr.  McDougall's  orders 
we  stowed  away  our  rifles  and  revolvers  inside  of  our  waggons, 
and  met  them  as  friends,  unarmed  and  fearless.  They  smoked 
the  pipe  of  •  peace  with  those  of  our  party  who  could  use  the 
weed,  and  others  drank  tea  with  the  rest  of  us.  As  we  were 
in  profound  ignorance  of  their  language,  and  they  of  ou:- 
some  of  us  had  not  much  conversation  with  them  c<4y;>nii 
what  could  be  carried  on  by  a  few  sigrns.  But  fhr.-ingh  Mr. 


SAVED  BY  OUR  FLAG.  '•          89 

McDougall  and  our  own  Indians,  they  assured  us  of  their 
friendship. 

We  pitched  our  tents,  hobbled  our  horses  and  turned  them 
loose,  as  usual.  We  cooked  our  evening  meals,  said  our  prayers, 
unrolled  our  camp-beds,  and  lay  down  to  rest  without  earthly 
sentinels  or  guards  around  us,  although  the  camp-fires  of  these 
so-called  "  treacherous  and  bloodthirsty  "  Sioux  could  be  seen  in 
the  distance,  and  we  knew  their  sharp  eyes  were  upon  us.  Yet 
we  lay  down  and  slept  in  peace,  and  arose  in  safety.  Nothing 
was  disturbed  or  stolen. 

So  much  for  a  clean  record  of  honourable  dealing  with  a  people 
who,  while  quick  to  resent  when  provoked,  are  mindful  of  kind- 
nesses received,  and  are  as  faithful  to  their  promises  and  treaty 
obligations,  as  are  any  other  of  the  races  of  the  world. 

We  were  thirty  days  in  making  the  trip  from  St.  Paul's  to  the 
Red  River  settlement.  We  had  to  ford  a  large  number  of 
bridgeless  streams.  Some  of  them  took  us  three  or  four  days 
to  get  our  whole  party  across.  We  not  unfrequently  had  some 
of  our  waggons  stuck  in  the  quicksands,  or  so  sunk  in  the 
quagmires  that  the  combined  strength  of  all  the  men  of  our 
party  was  required  to  get  them  out.  Often  the  ladies  of  our 
company,  with  shoes  and  stockings  off,  would  be  seen  bravely 
wading  across  wide  streams,  where  now  in  luxurious  comfort,  in 
parlour  cars,  travellers  are  whirled  along  at  the  rate  of  forty 
miles  an  hour.  They  were  a  cheerful,  brave  band  of  pioneers. 

The  weather,  on  the  whole,  was  pleasant,  but  we  had  some 
drenching  rain-storms ;  and  then  the  spirits  of  some  of  the  party 
went  down,  and  they  wondered  whatever  possessed  them  to  leave 
their  happy  homes  for  such  exile  and  wretchedness  as  this.  There 
was  one  fearful,  tornado-like  storm  that  assailed  us  when  we  were 
encamped  for  the  night  on  the  western  bank  of  Red  River. 
Tents  were  instantly  blown  down.  Heavy  waggons  were  driven 
before  it,  and  for  a  time  confusion  reigned  supreme.  Fortunately 
nobody  was  hurt,  and  most  of  the  things  blown  away  were 
recovered  the  next  day. 

Our  Sabbaths  were  days  of  quiet  rest  and  delightful  communien 
with  God.  Together  we  worshipped  Him  Who  dwelleth  not  in 


40 


BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 


temples  made  with  hands.  Many  were  the  precious  communions 
we  had  with  Him  Who  had  been  our  Comforter  and  our  Refuge 
under  other  circumstances,  and  Who,  having  now  called  us  to 
this  new  work  and  novel  life,  was  sweetly  lulfilling  in  us  the 
blessed  promise :  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alwav,  even  unto  the  end 
of  the  world." 


CHAPTER   IV. 

STILL  ON  THE  ROUTE— FORT  GARRY— BREAKING  UP  OF  OUR  PARTY  OF 
MISSIONARIES— LOWER  FORT — HOSPITABLE  HUDSON'S  BAY  OFFICIALS 
— PECULIARITIES— FOURTEEN  DAYS  IN  A  LITTLE  OPEN  BOAT  ON 
STORMY  LAKE  WINNIPEG — STRANGE  EXPERIENCES— HAPPY  CHRISTIAN 
INDIAN  BOATMEN — "  IN  PERILS  BY  WATERS." 

A  T  Fort  Garry  in  the  Red  River  settlement,  now  the  flourisliing 
/A-  city  of  Winnipeg,  our  party,  which  had  so  long  travelled 
together,  broke  up  with  mutual  regrets.  The  Rev.  George 
Young  and  his  family  remained  to  commence  the  first  Methodist 
Mission  in  that  place.  Many  were  his  discouragements  and 
difficulties,  but  glorious  have  been  his  successes.  More  to  him 
than  to  any  other  man  is  due  the  prominent  position  which  the 
Methodist  Church  now  occupies  in  the  North-West.  His  station 
was  one  calling  for  rare  tact  and  ability.  The  Riel  Rebellion, 
and  the  disaffection  of  the  Half-breed  population,  made  his 
position  at  times  one  of  danger  and  insecurity  \  but  he  proved 
himself  to  be  equal  to  every  emergency.  In  addition  to  the 
many  duties  devolving  upon  him  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Church  amidst  so  many  discordant  elements,  a  great  many  extra 
cares  were  imposed  upon  him  by  the  isolated  missionaries  in 
the  interior,  who  looked  to  him  for  the  purchasing  and  sending 
out  to  them,  as  best  he  could,  of  their  much-needed  supplies. 
Mis  kindly  laborious  efforts  for  their  comfort  can  never  be 
forgotten. 

The  Revs.  George  McDougall  and  Peter  Campbell,  with  the 
teachers  and  other  members  of  the  party,  pushed  on,  with  their 
horses,  waggons,  and  carts,  for  the  still  farther  North- West,  the 


42  BY  CANOE  AND   DOG-TRAIN. 

great  North  Saskatchewan  River,  twelve  hundred  miles  farther 
into  the  interior. 

During  the  first  part  of  their  journey  over  the  fertile  but  then 
unbroken  prairies,  the  only  inhabitants  they  met  were  the 
roving  Indians  and  Half-breeds,  whose  rude  wigwams  and  un- 
couth noisy  carts  have  long  since  disappeared,  and  have  been 
replaced  by  the  comfortable  habitations  of  energetic  settlers,  and 
the  swiftly  moving  trains  of  the  railroads. 

From  Fort  Garry  Mrs.  Young  and  myself  performed  the  rest 
of  our  journey  by  water,  going  down  the  Red  River  to  its  mouth, 
and  then  along  the  whole  length  of  the  stormy  Lake  Winnipeg, 
and  beyond,  to  our  own  far-off  northern  home.  The  trip  was 
made  in  what  is  called  "  the  Hudson's  Bay  inland  boat."  These 
boats  are  constructed  like  large  skiffs,  only  each  end  is  sharp. 
They  have  neither  deck  nor  cabin.  They  are  furnished  with  a 
mast  and  a  large  square  sail,  both  of  which  are  stowed  away 
when  the  wind  is  not  favourable  for  sailing.  They  are  manned 
by  six  or  eight  oarsmen,  and  are  supposed  to  carry  about  four 
tons  of  merchandise.  They  can  stand  a  rough  sea,  and  weather 
very  severe  gales,  as  we  found  out  during  our  years  of  adven- 
turous trips  in  them.  When  there  is  no  favourable  wind  for 
sailing,  the  stalwart  boatmen  push  out  their  heavy  oars,  and, 
bending  their  sturdy  backs  to  the  work,  and  keeping  the  most 
perfect  time,  are  often  able  to  make  their  sixty  miles  a  day.  But 
this  toiling  at  the  oar  is  slavish  work,  and  the  favouring  gale, 
oven  if  it  develops  into  a  fierce  storm,  is  always  preferable  to  a 
iead  calm.  These  northern  Indians  make  capital  sailors,  and  in 
the  sudden  squalls  and  fierce  gales  to  which  these  great  lakes 
are  subject,  they  display  much  courage  and  judgment. 

Our  place  in  the  boat  was  in  the  hinder  part  near  the  steers- 
man, a  pure  Indian,  whose  name  was  Thomas  Mamanowatum, 
familiarly  known  as  "  Big  Tom,"  on  account  of  his  almost 
gigantic  size.  He  was  one  of  Nature's  noblemen,  a  grand,  true 
man,  and  of  him  we  shall  have  more  to  say  hereafter.  Honoured 
indeed  was  the  missionary  who  led  such  a  man  from  Paganism 
to  Christianity. 

We  journeyed  on  pleasantly  for  twenty  miles  down  the  Red 


44  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

River  to  Lower  Fort  Garry,  where  we  found  that  we  should  have 
to  wait  for  several  days  ere  the  outfit  for  the  boats  would  be 
ready.  We  were,  however,  very  courteously  entertained  by  the 
Hudson's  Bay  officials,  who  showed  us  no  little  kindness. 

This  Lower  Fort  Garry,  or  "  the  Stone  Fort,"  as  it  is  called  in 
the  country,  is  an  extensive  affair,  having  a  massive  stone  wall 
all  around  it,  with  the  Company's  buildings  in  the  centre.  It 
was  built  in  stormy  times,  when  rival  trading  parties  existed, 
and  hostile  bands  were  ever  on  the  war  path.  It  is  capable  of 
resisting  almost  any  force  that  could  be  brought  against  it, 
unaided  by  artillery.  We  were  a  little  amused  and  very  much 
pleased  with  the  old-time  and  almost  courtly  etiquette  which 
abounded  at  this  and  the  other  establishments  of  this  nourishing 
Company.  In  those  days  the  law  of  precedents  was  in  full  force. 
When  the  bell  rang,  no  clerk  of  fourteen  years'  standing  would 
think  of  entering  before  one  who  had  been  fifteen  years  in  the 
service,  or  of  sitting  above  him  at  the  table.  Such  a  thing  would 
have  brought  down  upon  him  the  severe  reproof  of  the  senior 
officer  in  charge.  Irksome  and  even  frivolous  as  some  of  these 
laws  seemed,  doubtless  they  served  a  good  purpose,  and  prevented 
many  misunderstandings  which  might  have  occurred. 

Another  singular  custom,  which  we  did  not  like,  was  the  fact 
that  there  were  two  dining-rooms  in  these  establishments,  one 
for  the  ladies,  and  the  other  for  the  gentlemen  of  the  service. 
It  appeared  to  us  very  odd  to  see  the  gentlemen  with  the  greatest 
politeness  escort  the  ladies  into  the  hall  which  ran  between  the 
two  dining-rooms,  and  then  gravely 'turn  to  the  left?  while  the 
ladies  all  filed  off  into  the  room  on  the  right.  As  the  arrange- 
ment was  so  contrary  to  all  our  ideas  and  education  on  the 
subject,  we  presumed  to  question  it ;  but  the  only  satisfaction  we 
could  get  in  reference  to  it  was,  that  it  was  one  of  their  old 
customs,  and  had  worked  well.  One  old  crusty  bachelor  official 
said,  "  We  do  not  want  the  women  around  us  when  we  are  dis- 
cussing our  business  matters,  which  we  wish  to  keep  to  ourselves. 
If  they  were  present,  all  our  schemes  and  plans  would  soon  be 
known  to  all,  and  our  trade  might  be  much  injured." 

Throughout  this  vast  country,  until  very  lately,  the  adventurous 


LOWER  FORT  GARRY  MISSION.  45 

traveller,  whose  courage  or  curiosity  was  sufficient  to  enable  him 
to  brave  the  hardships  or  run  the  risks  of  exploring  these  enor- 
mous territories,  was  entirely  dependent  upon  the  goodwill  and 
hospitality  of  the  officials  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  They 
were  uniformly  treated  with  courtesy  and  hospitably  entertained. 

Very  isolated  are  some  of  these  inland  posts,  and  quite  expa- 
triated are  the  inmates  for  years  at  a  time.  These  lonely  esta- 
blishments are  to  be  found  scattered  all  over  the  upper  half  of 
this  great  American  Continent.  They  have  each  a  population  of 
from  five  to  sixty  human  beings.  These  are,  if  possible,  placed 
in  favourable  localities  for  fish  or  game,  but  often  from  one  to 
five  hundred  miles  apart.  The  only  object  of  their  erection  and 
occupancy  is  to  exchange  the  products  of  civilisation  for  the  rich 
and  valuable  furs  which  are  to  be  obtained  here  as  nowhere  else 
in  the  world.  In  many  instances  the  inmates  hear  from  the 
outside  world  but  twice,  and  at  times  but  once,  in  twelve  months. 
Then  the  arrival  of  the  packet  is  the  great  event  of  the  year. 

We  spent  a  very  pleasant  Sabbath  at  Lower  Fort  Garry,  and 
I  preached  in  the  largest  dining-room  to  a  very  attentive  con- 
gregation, composed  of  the  officials  and  servants  of  the  Company, 
with  several  visitors,  and  also  some  Half-breeds  and  Indians  who 
happened  to  be  at  the  fort  at  that  time. 

The  next  day  two  boats  were  ready,  and  we  embarked  on  our 
adventurous  journey  for  our  far-off,  isolated  home  beyond  the 
northern  end  of  Lake  Winnipeg.  The  trip  down  Red  River  was 
very  pleasant.  We  passed  through  the  flourishing  Indian  Settle- 
ment, where  the  Church  of  England  has  a  successful  Mission 
among  the  Indians.  We  admired  their  substantial  church  and 
comfortable  homes,  and  saw  in  them,  and  in  the  farms,  tangible 
evidence  of  the  power  of  Christian  Missions  to  elevate  and  LI  ss 
those  who  come  under  their  ennobling  influences.  The  cosy 
residence  of  the  Venerable  Archdeacon  Cowley  was  pointed  out 
to  us,  beautifully  embowered  among  the  trees.  He  was  a  man 
beloved  of  all;  a  life-long  friend  of  the  Indians,  and  one  who 
was  as  an  angel  of  mercy  to  us  in  after  years,  when  our  Nellie 
died,  while  Mrs.  Young  was  making  an  adventurous  journey  in 
an  open  boat  on  the  stormy,  treacherous  Lake  Winnipeg. 


46  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

This  sad  event  occurred  when,  after  five  years'  residence  among 
the  Crees  at  Norway  House,  we  had  instructions  from  our  mis- 
sionary authorities  to  go  and  open  up  a  new  Indian  Mission  among 
the  then  pagan  Salfceaux.  I  had  orders  to  remain  at  Norway 
House  until  my  successor  arrived ;  and  as  but  one  opportunity 
was  offered  for  Mrs.  Young  and  the  children  to  travel  in  those 
days  of  limited  opportunities,  they  started  on  several  weeks  ahead 
in  an  open  skiff  manned  by  a  few  Indians,  leaving  me  to  follow 
in  a  birch  canoe.  So  terrible  was  the  heat  that  hot  July,  in 
that  open  boat  with  no  deck  or  awning,  that  the  beautiful  child 
sickened  and  died  of  brain-fever.  Mrs.  Young  found  herself  with 
her  dying  child  on  the  banks  of  Red  River,  all  alone  among  her 
sorrowing  Indian  boatmen,  "  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land  ;  "  no 
home  to  which  to  go ;  no  friends  to  sympathise  with  her.  For- 
tunately for  her,  the  Hudson's  Bay  officials  at  Lower  Fort  Garry 
were  made  aware  of  her  sorrows,  and  received  her  into  one  of 
their  homes  ere  the  child  died.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Cowley  also  came 
and  prayed  for  her,  and  sympathised  with  her  on  the  loss  of  her 
beautiful  child. 

As  I  was  far  away  when  Nellie  died,  Mrs.  Young  knew  not 
what  to  do  with  our  precious  dead.  A  temporary  grave  was 
made,  and  in  it  the  body  was  laid  until  I  could  be  communicated 
with,  and  arrangements  could  be  made  for  its  permanent  inter- 
ment. I  wrote  at  once  by  an  Indian  to  the  Venerable  Archdeacon 
Cowley,  asking  permission  to  bury  our  dead  in  his  graveyard ; 
and  there  came  promptly  back,  by  the  canoe,  a  very  brotherly, 
sympathetic  letter,  ending  up  with,  "  Our  graveyards  are  open 
before  you ;  '  in  the  choicest  of  our  sepulchres  bury  thy  dead/ " 
A  few  weeks  after,  when  I  had  handed  over  my  Mission  to 
Brother  Ruttan,  I  hurried  on  to  the  settlement,  and  with  a  few 
sympathising  friends,  mostly  Indians,  we  took  up  the  little  body 
from  its  temporary  resting-place,  and  buried  it  in  the  St.  Peter's 
Church  graveyard,  the  dear  archdeacon  himself  being  present, 
and  reading  the  beautiful  Burial  Service  of  his  Church.  That 
land  to  us  has  been  doubly  precious  since  it  has  become  the 
repository  of  our  darling  child. 

As  we  floated  down  the  current,  or  were  propelled  along  by  the 


DANGERS   ON  LAKE    WINNIPEG.  47 

oars  of  our  Indian  boatmen,  on  that  first  journey,  little  did  we 
imagine  that  this  sad  episode  in  our  lives  would  happen  in  that 
very  spot  a  few  years  after.  When  we  were  near  the  end  of  the 
Indian  Settlement,  as  it  is  called,  we  saw  several  Indians  on  the 
bank,  holding  on  to  a  couple  of  oxen.  Our  boats  were  imme- 
diately turned  in  to  the  shore  near  them,  and,  to  our  great 
astonishment,  we  found  out  that  each  boat  was  to  have  an 
addition  to  its  passenger  list  in  the  shape  of  one  of  these  big 
fellows.  The  getting  of  these  animals  shipped  was  no  easy 
matter,  as  there  was  no  wharf  or  gangway ;  but  after  a  good 
deal  of  pulling  and  pushing,  and  lifting  up  of  one  leg,  and  then 
another,  the  patient  brutes  were  embarked  on  the  frail  crafts, 
to  be  our  companions  during  the  voyage  to  Norway  House.  The 
position  assigned  to  the  one  in  our  boat  was  just  in  front  of  us, 
"  broadside  on,"  as  the  sailors  would  say ;  his  head  often  hanging 
over  one  side  of  the  boat,  and  his  tail  over  the  other  side.  The 
only  partition  there  was  between  him  and  us  was  a  single  board 
a  few  inches  wide.  Such  close  proximity  to  this  animal  for  four- 
teen days  was  not  very  agreeable ;  but  as  it  could  not  be  helped 
it  had  to  be  endured. 

At  times,  during  the  first  few  days,  the  ox  made  some  desperate 
efforts  to  break  loose ;  and  it  seemed  as  though  he  would  either 
smash  our  boat  to  pieces  or  upset  it;  but,  finding  his  efforts 
unsuccessful,  he  gracefully  accepted  the  situation,  and  behaved 
himself  admirably.  When  storms  arose  he  quietly  lay  down,  and 
served  as  so  much  ballast  to  steady  the  boat.  "  Tom,"  the  guide, 
kept  him  well  supplied  with  food  from  the  rich  nutritious  grasses 
which  grew  abundantly  along  the  shore  at  our  different  camping- 
places. 

Winnipeg  is  considered  one  of  the  stormiest  lakes  on  the 
American  Continent.  It  is  about  three  hundred  miles  long, 
and  varies  from  eighty  to  but  a  few  miles  in  width.  It  is 
indented  with  innumerable  bays,  and  is  dangerous  to  navigators, 
on  account  of  its  many  shoals  and  hidden  rocks.  Winnipeg,  or 
Wenipak,  as  some  Indians  pronounce  it,  means  "  the  sea,"  and 
Keche  Wenipak  means  "  the  ocean." 

The  trip  across  Lake  Winnipeg  was  one  that  at  the  present 


48  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

day  would  be  considered  a  great  hardship,  taking  into  considera- 
tion the  style  of  the  boat  and  the  way  we  travelled. 

Our  method  of  procedure  was  about  as  follows.  We  were 
aroused  very  early  in  the  morning  by  the  guide's  cry  of  Koos  koos 
kwa  !  "  Wake  up  ! "  Everybody  was  expected  to  obey  promptly, 
as  there  was  always  a  good  deal  of  rivalry  between  the  boats  as 
to  which  could  get  away  first.  A  hasty  breakfast  was  prepared 
on  the  rocks;  after  which  a  morning  hymn  was  sung,  and  an 
earnest  prayer  was  offered  up  to  Him  Who  holds  the  winds  and 
waves  under  His  control. 

Then  "  All  aboard  "  was  the  cry,  and  soon  tents,  kettles,  axes, 
and  all  the  other  things  were  hurriedly  gathered  up  and  placed 
on  board.  If  the  wind  was  favourable,  the  mast  was  put  up,  the 
sail  hoisted,  and  we  were  soon  rapidly  speeding  on  our  way.  If 
the  oars  had  to  be  used,  there  was  not  half  the  alacrity  displayed 
by  the  poor  fellows,  who  well  knew  how  wearisome  their  task 
would  be.  When  we  had  a  favourable  wind,  we  generally  dined 
as  well  as  we  could  in  the  boat,  to  save  time,  as  the  rowers  well 
knew  how  much  more  pleasant  it  was  to  glide  along  with  the 
favouring  breeze  than  to  be  obliged  to  work  at  the  heavy  oars. 
Often  during  whole  nights  we  sailed  on,  although  at  considerable 
risks  in  that  treacherous  lake,  rather  than  lose  the  fair  wind. 
For,  if  there  ever  was,  in  this  world  of  uncertainties,  one  route 
of  more  uncertainty  than  another,  the  palm  must  be  conceded  to 
the  voyages  on  Lake  Winnipeg  in  those  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 
inland  boats.  You  might  make  the  trip  in  four  days,  or  even 
a  few  hours  less;  and  you  might  be  thirty  days,  and  a  few 
hours  over. 

Once,  in  after  years,  I  was  detained  for  six  days  on  a  little 
•rocky  islet  by  a  fierce  northern  gale,  which  at  times  blew  with 
sui  h  force  that  we  could  not  keep  up  a  tent  or  even  stand  upright 
against  its  fury ;  and  as  there  was  not  sufficient  soil  in  which  to 
drive  a  tent  pin,  we,  -^ith  all  our  bedding  and  supplies,  were 
drenched  by  the  pitiless  sleet  and  rain.  Often  in  these  later 
years,  when  I  have  heard  people,  sitting  in  the  comfortable 
waiting-room  of  a  railway  station,  bitterly  complaining  because 
a  train  was  an  hour  or  two  late,  memory  has  carried  me  back 


PICTURESQUE   ENCAMPMENTS.  49 

to  some  of  those  long  detentions  amidst  the  most  disagreeable 
surroundings,  and  I  have  wondered  at  the  trifles  which  can  upset 
the  equanimity  of  some  or  cause  them  to  show  such  fretfulness. 

When  the  weather  was  fine,  the  camping  on  the  shore  was  very 
enjoyable.  Our  tent  was  quickly  erected  by  willing  hands ;  the 
camp  fire  was  kindled,  and  glowed  with  increasing  brightness  as 
the  shadows  of  night  fell  around  us.  The  evening  meal  was  soon 
prepared,  and  an  hour  or  two  would  sometimes  be  spent  in 
pleasant  converse  with  our  dusky  friends,  who  were  most  delightful 
travelling  companions.  Our  days  always  began  and  closed  with 
a  religious  service.  All  of  our  Indian  companions  in  the  two 
boats  on  this  first  trip  were  Christians,  in  the  best  and  truest 
sense  of  the  word.  They  were  the  converts  of  the  earlier  mis- 
sionaries of  our  Church.  At  first  they  were  a  little  reserved,  and 
acted  as  though  they  imagined  we  expected  them  to  be  very 
sedate  and  dignified.  For,  like  some  white  folks,  they  imagined 
the  "  black-coat "  and  his  wife  did  not  believe  in  laughter  or 
pleasantry.  However,  we  soon  disabused  their  minds  of  those 
erroneous  ideas,  and  before  we  reached  Norway  House  we  were 
on  the  best  of  terms  with  each  other.  We  knew  but  little  of 
their  language,  but  some  of  them  had  a  good  idea  of  English, 
and,  using  these  as  our  interpreters,  we  got  along  finely. 

They  were  well  furnished  with  Testaments  and  hymn-books, 
printed  in  the  beautiful  syllabic  characters ;  and  they  used  them 
well.  This  worshipping  with  a  people  who  used  to  us  an  unknown 
tongue  was  at  first  rather  novel ;  but  it  attracted  and  charmed 
us  at  once.  We  were  forcibly  struck  with  the  reverential  manner 
in  which  they  conducted  their  devotions.  No  levity  or  indif- 
ference marred  the  solemnity  of  their  religious  services.  They 
listened  very  attentively  while  one  of  their  number  read  to  them 
from  the  sacred  Word,  and  gave  the  closest  attention  to  what  I 
had  to  say,  through  an  interpreter. 

Very  sweetly  and  soothingly  sounded  the  hymns  of  praise  and 
adoration  that  welled  up  from  their  musical  voices ;  and  though 
we  understood  them  not,  yet  in  their  earnest  prayers  there 
seemed  to  be  so  much  that  was  real  and  genuine,  as  in  pathetic 
tones  they  offered  up  their  petitions,  that  we  felt  it  to  be  a  great 

4 


50  BY   CANOE  AN.D  DOG-TRAIN. 

privilege  and  a  source  of  much  blessing,  when  with  them  we 
bowed  at  the  mercy- seat  of  our  great  loving  Father,  to  Whom  all 
languages  of  earth  are  known,  and  before  Whom  all  hearts  are 
open. 

Very  helpful  at  times  to  devout  worship  were  our  surroundings. 
As  in  the  ancient  days,  when  the  vast  multitudes  gathered 
around  Him  on  the  seaside  and  were  comforted  and  cheered  by 
His  presence,  so  we  felt  on  these  quiet  shores  of  the  lake  that 
we  were  worshipping  Him  Who  is  always  the  same.  At  times 
delightful  and  suggestive  were  our  environments.  With  Winni- 
peg's sunlit  waves  before  us,  the  blue  sky  above  us,  the  dark, 
deep,  primeval  forest  as  our  background,  and  the  massive  granite 
rocks  beneath  us,  we  often  felt  a  nearness  of  access  to  Him,  the 
Sovereign  of  the  universe,  Who  "dwelleth  not  in  temples  made 
with  hands,"  but  "  Who  covereth  Himself  with  light  as  with  a 
garment ;  Who  stretcheth  out  the  heavens  like  a  curtain ;  Who 
layeth  the  beams  of  His  chambers  in  the  waters ;  Who  maketh 
the  clouds  His  chariot ;  Who  walketh  upon  the  wings  of  the 
wind ;  Who  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth,  that  it  should  not 
be  removed  for  ever." 

Our  Sabbaths  were  days  of  rest.  The  Christian  Indians  had 
been  taught  by  their  faithful  missionaries  the  fourth  command- 
ment, and  they  kept  it  well.  Although  far  from  their  homes  and 
their  beloved  sanctuary,  they  respected  the  day.  When  they 
camped  on  Saturday  night,  all  the  necessary  preparations  were 
made  for  a  quiet,  restful  Sabbath.  All  the  wood  that  would  be 
needed  to  cook  the  day's  supplies  was  secured,  and  the  food  that 
required  cooking  was  prepared.  Guns  were  stowed  away,  and 
although  sometimes  ducks  or  other  game  would  come  near,  they 
were  not  disturbed.  Generally  two  religious  services  were  held 
and  enjoyed.  The  Testaments  and  hymn-books  were  well  used 
throughout  the  day,  and  an  atmosphere  of  "  Paradise  Regained  " 
seemed  fco  pervade  the  place. 

At  first,  long  years  ago,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  officials 
bitterly  opposed  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  by  their  boatmen 
and  tripmen;  but  the  missionaries  were  true  and  firm,  and  although 
persecution  for  a  time  abounded,  eventually  right  and  truth  pre- 


52  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

vailed,  and  our  Christian  Indians  were  left  to  keep  the  day 
wf.thout  molestation.  And,  as  has  always  been  found  to  be  the 
3ase  in  such  instances,  there  was  no  loss,  but  rather  gain.  Our 
Christian  Indians,  who  rested  the  Sabbath  day,  were  never 
behindhand.  On  the  long  trips  into  the  interior  or  down  to 
York  Factory  or  Hudson  Bay,  these  Indian  canoe  brigades 
used  to  make  better  time,  have  better  health,  and  bring  up 
their  boats  and  cargoes  in  better  shape,  than  the  Catholic  Half- 
breeds  or  pagan  Indians,  who  pushed  on  without  any  day  of  rest. 
Years  of  studying  this  question,  judging  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  work  accomplished  and  its  effects  on  men's  physical  consti- 
tution, apart  altogether  from  its  moral  and  religious  aspect, 
most  conclusively  taught  me  that  the  institution  of  the  one  day 
in  seven  as  a  day  of  rest  is  for  man's  highest  good. 

Thus  we  journeyed  on,  meeting  with  various  adventures  by 
the  way.  One  evening,  rather  than  lose  the  advantage  of  a  good 
wind,  our  party  resolved  to  sail  on  throughout  the  night.  We 
had  no  compass  or  chart,  no  moon  or  fickle  Auroras  lit  up  the 
watery  waste.  Clouds,  dark  and  heavy,  flitted  by,  obscuring  the 
dim  starlight,  and  adding  to  the  risk  and  danger  of  our  proceed- 
ing. On  account  of  the  gloom  part  of  the  crew  were  kept  on  the 
watch  continually.  The  bowsman,  with  a  long  pole  in  his  hands, 
sat  in  the  prow  of  the  boat,  alert  and  watchful.  For  a  long 
time  I  sat  with  the  steersman  in  the  stern  of  our  little  craft, 
enjoying  this  weird  way  of  travelling.  Out  of  the  darkness 
behind  us  into  the  vague  blackness  before  us  we  plunged.  Some- 
times through  the  darkness  came  the  sullen  roar  and  dash  of 
waves  against  the  rocky  isles  or  dangerous  shore  near  at  hand, 
reminding  us  of  the  risks  we  were  running,  and  what  need  there 
was  of  the  greatest  care. 

Our  camp  bed  had  been  spread  on  some  boards  in  the  hinder 
part  of  our  little  boat;  and  here  Mrs.  Young,  who  for  a  time 
had  enjoyed  the  exciting  voyage,  was  now  fast  asleep.  I  remained 
up  with  "  Big  Tom "  until  after  midnight ;  and  then,  having 
exhausted  my  stock  of  Indian  words  in  conversation  with  him, 
and  becoming  weary,  I  wrapped  a  blanket  around  myself  and 
lay  down  to  rest.  Hardly  had  I  reached  the  land  of  dreams. 


ALMOST  A    SHIPWRECK.  63 

when  I  was  suddenly  awakened  by  being  most  unceremoniously 
thrown,  with  wife,  bedding,  bales,  boxes,  and  some  drowsy 
Indians,  on  one  side  of  the  boat.  We  scrambled  up  as  well  as 
we  could,  and  endeavoured  to  take  in  our  situation.  The  dark- 
ness was  intense,  but  we  could  easily  make  out  the  fact  that  our 
boat  was  stuck  fast.  The  wind  whistled  around  us,  and  bore 
with  such  power  upon  our  big  sail  that  the  wonder  was  that  it 
did  not  snap  the  mast  or  ropes.  The  sail  was  quickly  lowered, 
a  lantern  was  lit,  but  its  nickering  light  showed  no  land  in  view. 
We  had  run  upon  a  submerged  rock,  and  there  we  were  held 
fast.  In  vain  the  Indians,  using  their  big  oars  as  poles,  en- 
deavoured to  push  the  boat  back  into  deep  water.  Finding 
this  impossible,  some  of  them  sprang  out  into  the  water  which 
threatened  to  engulf  them ;  but,  with  the  precarious  footing  the 
submerged  rock  gave  them,  they  pushed  and  shouted,  when, 
being  aided  by  a  giant  wave,  the  boat  at  last  was  pushed  over 
into  the  deep  water  beyond.  At  considerable  risk  and  thoroughly 
drenched,  the  brave  fellows  scrambled  on  board ;  the  sail  was 
again  hoisted,  and  away  we  sped  through  the  gloom  and  darkness. 


CHAPTER   V. 

ARRIVAL  AT  NORWAY  HOUSE — OUB  NEW  HOME — REV.  CHARLES  STRING- 
FELLOW — THUNDERSTORM — REV.  JAMES  EVANS — SYLLABIC  CHA- 
RACTERS INVENTED— DIFFICULTIES  OVERCOME — HELP  FROM  ENGLISH 
WESLEYAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY  AND  FROM  BRITISH  AND  FOREIGN 
BIBLE  SOCIETY — EXTENSIVE  USE  OF  THE  SYLLABIC  CHARACTERS— 
OUR  PEOPLE,  CHRISTIAN  AND  PAGAN — LEARNING  LESSONS  BY  DEAR 
EXPERIENCE — THE  HUNGRY  WOMAN — THE  MAN  WITH  THE  TWO 
DUCKS — OUR  FIRST  SABBATH  IN  OUR  NEW  FIELD — SUNDAY  SCHOOL 
AND  SABBATH  SERVICES— FAMILY  ALTARS. 

WE  reached  Norway  House  on  the  afternoon  of  the  29th  of 
July,  1868,  and  received  a  very  cordial  welcome  from 
James  Stewart,  Esq.,  the  gentleman  in  charge  of  this  Hudson's 
Bay  post.  This  is  one  of  the  most  important  establishments  of 
this  wealthy  fur-trading  Company.  For  many  years  it  was  the 
capital,  at  which  the  different  officers  and  other  officials  from 
the  different  districts  of  this  vast  country  were  in  the  habit  of 
meeting  annually  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  the  various 
matters  in  connection  with  their  prosecution  of  the  fur  trade. 
Here  Sir  George  Simpson,  for  many  years  the  energetic  and 
despotic  Governor,  used  to  come  to  meet  these  officials,  travelling 
by  birch  canoe,  manned  by  his  matchless  crew  of  Iroquois  Indians, 
all  the  way  from  Montreal,  a  distance  of  several  thousand  miles. 
Here  immense  quantities  of  furs  were  collected  from  the  different 
trading  posts,  and  then  shipped  to  England  by  way  of  Hudson's 
Bay. 

The  sight  of  this  well-kept  establishment,  and  the  courtesy  and 
cordial  welcome  extended  to  us,  were  very  pleasing  after  our  long 
toilsome  voyage  up  Lake  Winnipeg.  But  still  we  were  two 


IN    OUR    MISSION  FIELD.  ~*        66 

miles  and  a  half  from  our  Indian  Mission,  and  so  we  were  full  of 
anxiety  to  reach  the  end  of  our  journey.  Mr.  Stewart,  however, 
insisted  on  our  remaining  to  tea  with  him,  and  then  took  us  over 
to  the  Indian  village  in  his  own  row-boat,  manned  by  four  sturdy 
Highlanders.  Ere  we  reached  the  shore,  sweet  sounds  of  melody 
fell  upon  our  ears.  The  Wednesday  evening  service  was  being 
held,  and  songs  of  praise  were  being  sung  by  the  Indian  congrega- 
tion, the  notes  of  which  reached  us  as  we  neared  the  margin  and 
landed  upon  the  rocky  beach.  We  welcomed  this  as  a  pleasing 
omen,  and  rejoiced  at  it  as  one  of  the  grand  evidences  of  the 
Gospel's  power  to  change.  Not  many  years  ago  the  horrid  yells 
of  the  conjurer,  and  the  whoops  of  the  savage  Indians,  were  here 
the  only  familiar  sounds.  Now  the  sweet  songs  of  Zion  are 
heard,  and  God's  praises  are  sung  by  a  people  whose  lives  attest 
the  genuineness  of  the  work  accomplished. 

We  were  cordially  welcomed  by  Mrs.  Stringfellow  in  the 
Mission  house,  and  were  soon  afterwards  joined  by  her  husband, 
who  had  been  conducting  the  religious  services  in  the  church. 
Very  thankful  were  we  that  after  our  long  and  adventurous 
journeyings  for  two  months  and  eighteen  days,  by  land  and 
water,  through  the  good  providence  of  God  we  had  reached  our 
field  of  toil  among  the  Cree  Indians,  where  for  years  we  were  to 
be  permitted  to  labour. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stringfellow  remained  with  us  for  a  few  days 
ere  they  set  out  on  their  return  trip  to  the  province  of  Ontario. 
We  took  s\veet  counsel  together,  and  I  received  a  great  deal  of 
valuable  information  in  reference  to  the  prosecution  of  our  work 
among  these  Red  men.  For  eleven  years  the  missionary  and 
his  wife  had  toiled  and  suffered  in  this  northern  land.  A  good 
degree  of  success  had  attended  their  efforts,  and  we  were  much 
pleased  with  the  state  in  which  we  found  everything  connected 
with  the  Mission. 

While  we  were  at  family  prayers  the  first  evening  after  our 
arrival,  there  came  up  one  of  the  most  terrific  thunderstorms  we 
ever  experienced.  The  heavy  Mission  house,  although  built  of 
logs,  and  well  mudded  and  clap-boarded,  shook  so  much  while  we 
were  on  our  knees  that  several  large  pictures  fell  from  the  walls; 


56  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

one  of  which,  tumbling  on  Brother  Stringfellow's  head,  put  a 
very  sudden  termination  to  his  evening  devotions. 

Rossville  Mission,  Norway  House,  was  commenced  by  the  Rev. 
James  Evans  in  the  year  1840.  It  has  been,  and  still  is,  one  of 
the  most  successful  Indian  Missions  in  America.  Here  Mr. 
Evans  invented  the  syllabic  characters,  by  which  an  intelligent 
Indian  can  learn  to  read  the  Word  of  God  in  ten  days  or  two 
weeks.  Earnestly  desirous  to  devise  some  method  by  which  the 
wandering  Indians  could  acquire  the  art  of  reading  in  a  more 
expeditious  manner  than  by  the  use  of  the  English  alphabet,  he 
invented  these  characters,  each  of  which  stands  for  a  syllable. 
He  carved  his  first  type  with  his  pocket-knife,  and  procured  the 
lead  for  the  purpose  from  the  tea-chests  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company's  post.  His  first  ink  he  made  out  of  the  soot  from  the 
chimney,  and  his  first  paper  was  birch  bark.  Great  was  the 
excitement  among  the  Indians  when  he  had  perfected  his  inven- 
tion, and  had  begun  printing  in  their  own  language.  The  con- 
jurers, and  other  pagan  Indians,  were  very  much  alarmed,  when, 
as  they  expressed  it,  they  found  the  "  bark  of  the  tree  was 
beginning  to  talk." 

The  English  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society  was  early  impressed 
with  the  advantage  of  this  wonderful  invention,  and  the  great 
help  it  would  be  in  carrying  on  the  blessed  work.  At  great 
expense  they  sent  out  a  printing  press,  with  a  large  quantity 
of  type,  which  they  had  had  specially  cast.  Abundance  of 
paper,  and  everything  else  essential,  were  furnished.  For  years 
portions  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  a  goodly  number  of  hymns 
translated  into  the  Cree  language,  were  printed,  and  incalculable 
good  resulted. 

Other  missionary  organisations  at  work  in  the  country  quickly 
saw  the  advantage  of  using  these  syllabic  characters,  and  were 
not  slow  to  avail  themselves  of  them.  White  all  lovers  of 
Missions  rejoice  at  this,  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  some,  from 
whom  better  things  might  have  been  expected,  were  anxious  to 
take  the  credit  of  the  invention,  instead  of  giving  it  to  its 
rightful  claimant,  the  Rev.  James  Evans.  It  is  a  remarkable 
fact,  that  so  perfectly  did  Mr.  Evans  do  his  work,  that  no 


OUR    FIRST   SABBATH.  -          67 

improvement  has  been  made  as  regards  the  use  of  these  characters 
among  the  Cree  Indians. 

Other  missionaries  have  introduced  them  among  other  tribes, 
with  additions  to  meet  the  sounds  used  in  those  tribes  which  are 
not  found  among  the  Crees.  They  have  even  been  successfully 
utilised  by,  the  Moravians  among  the  Esquimaux. 

On  our  arrival  at  Rossville  the  Indians  crowded  in  to  see  the 
new  missionary  and  his  wife,  and  were  very  cordial  in  their 
greetings.  Even  some  pagan  Indians,  dressed  up  in  their  wild 
picturesque  costumes,  came  to  see  us,  and  were  very  friendly. 

As  quickly  as  possible  we  settled  down  to  our  work,  and  tried 
to  grasp  its  possibilities.  We  saw  many  pleasing  evidences  of 
what  had  been  accomplished  by  faithful  predecessors,  and  were 
soon  convinced  of  the  greatness  of  the  work  yet  to  be  done.  For, 
while  from  our  church,  and  the  houses  of  our  Christian  people, 
the  songs  of  Zion  were  heard,  our  ears  were  saluted  by  the  shouts 
and  yells  of  old  Indian  conjurers  and  medicine-men,  added  to  the 
monotonous  sounds  of  their  drums,  which  came  to  us  nightly  from 
almost  every  point  in  the  compass,  from  islands  and  headlands 
riot  far  away. 

Our  first  Sabbath  was  naturally  a  very  interesting  day.  Our 
own  curiosity  to  see  our  people  was  doubtless  equalled  by  that  of 
the  people  to  see  their  new  missionary.  Pagans  nocked  in  with 
Christians,  until  the  church .  was  crowded.  We  were  very  much 
pleased  with  their  respectful  demeanour  in  the  house  of  God. 
There  was  no  laughing  or  frivolity  in  the  sanctuary.  With  their 
moccasined  feet  and  cat-like  tread,  several  hundred  Indians 
did  not  make  one  quarter  the  noise  often  heard  in  Christian 
lands,  made  by  audiences  one-tenth  the  size.  We  were  much 
delighted  with  their  singing.  There  is  a  peculiar  plaintive 
sweetness  about  Indian  singing  that  has  for  me  a  special 
attractiveness.  Scores  of  them  brought  their  Bibles  to  the 
church.  When  I  announced  the  lessons  for  the  day,  the  quick- 
ness with  which  they  found  the  places  showed  their  familiarity 
with  tho  sacred  volume.  During  prayers  they  were  old-fashioned 
Methodists  enough  to  kneel  down  while  the  Sovereign  of  the 
universe  was  being  addressed.  They  sincerely  and  literally 


68  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  Psalmist  when  he  said  :  "  O  come, 
let  us  worship  and  bow  down  :  let  us  kneel  before  the  Lord  our 
Maker." 

I  was  fortunate  in  securing  for  my  interpreter  a  thoroughly 
good  Indian  by  the  name  of  Timothy  Bear.  He  was  of  an 
emotional  nature,  and  rendered  good  service  to  the  cause  of 
Christ.  Sometimes,  when  interpreting  for  me  the  blessed  truths 
of  the  Gospel,  his  heart  would  get  fired  up,  and  he  would  become 
so  absorbed  in  his  theme  that  he  would  in  a  most  eloquent  way 
beseech  and  plead  with  the  people  to  accept  this  wonderful 
salvation. 

As  the  days  rolled  by,  and  we  went  in  and  out  among  them, 
and  contrasted  the  pagan  with  the  Christian  Indian,  we  saw 
many  evidences  that  the  Gospel  is  still  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation,  and  that,  whenever  accepted  in  its  fulness,  it  brings 
not  only  peace  and  joy  to  the  heart,  but  is  attended  by  the 
secondary  blessings  of  civilisation.  The  Christian  Indians  could 
easily  be  picked  out  by  the  improved  appearance  of  their  homes, 
as  well  as  by  the  marvellous  change  in  their  lives  and  actions. 

We  found  out,  before  we  had  been  there  many  days,  that  we 
had  much  to  learn  about  Indian  customs  and  habits  and  modes 
of  thought.  For  example :  the  day  after  Mr.  and  Mrs.  String- 
fellow  had  left  us,  a  poor  woman  came  in,  and  by  the  sign  language 
let  Mrs.  Young  know  that  she  was  very  hungry.  On  the  table 
were  a  large  loaf  of  bread,  a  large  piece  of  corned  beef,  and  a  dish 
of  vegetables,  left  over  from  our 'boat  supplies.  My  good  wife's, 
sympathies  were  aroused  at  the  poor  woman's  story,  and,  cutting 
off  a  generous  supply  of  meat  and  bread,  and  adding  thereto  a 
large  quantity  of  the  vegetables  and  a  quart  of  tea,  she  seated 
the  woman  at  the  table  before  the  hearty  meal.  Without  any 
trouble  the  guest  disposed  of  the  whole,  and  then,  to  our  amaze- 
ment, began  pulling  up  the  skirt  of  her  dress  at  the  side  till  she 
had  formed  a  capacious  pocket.  Reaching  over,  she  seized  the 
meat,  and  put  it  in  this  large  receptacle,  the  loaf  of  bread  quickly 
followed,  and  lastly,  the  dish  of  vegetables.  Then,  getting  up 
from  her  chair,  she  turned  towards  us,  saying,  "  Na-nas-koo-moo- 
wi-nah,"  which  is  the  Cree  for  thanksgiving.  She  gracefully 


INDIAN    CUSTOMS.  S9 

backed  out  of  the  dining-room,  holding  carefully  on  to  her  supplies. 
Mrs.  Young  and  I  looked  in  astonishment,  but  said  nothing  till 
she  had  gone  out.  We  could  not  help  laughing  at  the  queer  sight, 
although  the  food  which  had  disappeared  in  this  unexpected  way 
was  what  was  to  have  been  our  principal  support  for  two  or  three 
days,  until  our  supplies  should  have  arrived.  Afterwards,  when 


FAT  DUCKS  (p.  CO). 

expressing  our  astonishment  at 
what  looked  like  the  greediness 
of  this  woman,  we  learned  that 
she  had  only  complied  with  the   strict  eti- 
quette of   her  tribe.      It  seems  it  is  their 
habit,  when  they  make  a  feast  for  anybody, 

or  give  them  a  dinner,  if  fortunate  enough  to  have  abundance 
of  food,  to  put  a  large  quantity  before  them.  The  invited  guest 
is  expected  to  eat  all  he  can,  and  then  to  carry  the  rest  away. 


60  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

This  was  exactly  what  the  poor  woman  did.  From  this  lesson 
of  experience  we  learnt  just  to  place  before  them  what  we  felt 
our  limited  abilities  enabled  us  to  give  at  the  time. 

One  clay  a  fine-looking  Indian  came  in  with  a  couple  of  fat 
ducks.  As  our  supplies  were  low,  we  were  glad  to  see  them ;  and 
in  taking  them  I  asked  him  what  I  should  give  him  for  them. 
His  answer  was,  "  O,  nothing ;  they  are  a  present  for  the  mis- 
sionary and  his  wife."  Of  course  I  was  delighted  at  this 
exhibition  of  generosity  on  the  part  of  this  entire  stranger  to  us 
so  soon  after  our  arrival  in  this  wild  land.  The  Indian  at  once 
made  himself  at  home  with  us,  and  kept  us  busy  answering 
questions  and  explaining  to  him  everything  that  excited  his 
curiosity.  Mrs.  Young  had  to  leave  her  work  to  play  for  his 
edification  on  the  little  melodeon.  He  remained  to  dinner,  and 
ate  one  of  the  ducks,  while  Mrs.  Young  and  I  had  the  other. 
He  hung  around  all  the  afternoon,  and  did  ample  justice  to  a 
supper  out  of  our  supplies.  He  tarried  with  us  until  near  the 
hour  for  retiring,  when  I  gently  hinted  to  him  that  I  thought 
it  was  about  time  he  went  to  see  if  his  wigwam  was  where  he 
left  it. 

"  0,"  he  exclaimed,  "  I  am  only  waiting." 

"  Waiting  ?  "  I  said  ;  "  for  what  are  you  waiting  ?  " 

"  I  am  waiting  for  the  present  you  are  going  to  give  me  for  the 
present  I  gave  you." 

I  at  once  took  in  the  situation,  and  went  off  and  got  him  some- 
thing worth  half-a-dozen  times  as  much  as  his  ducks,  and  he  went 
off  very  happy. 

When  he  was  gone,  my  good  wife  and  I  sat  down,  and  we  said, 
"  Here  is  lesson  number  two.  Perhaps,  after  we  have  been  here 
a  while,  we  shall  know  something  about  the  Indians." 

After  that  we  accepted  of  no  presents  from  them,  but  insisted 
on  paying  a  reasonable  price  for  everything  we  needed  which 
they  had  to  sell. 

Our  Sunday's  work  began  with  the  Sunday  School  at  nine 
o'clock.  All  the  boys  and  girls  attended,  and  often  there  were 
present  many  of  the  adults.  The  children  were  attentive  and 
respectful,  and  many  of  them  were  able  to  repeat  large  portions 


SUNDAY  SERVICES.  61 

of  Scripture  from  memory.  A  goodly  number  studied  the  Cate- 
chism translated  into  their  own  language.  They  sang  the  hymns 
sweetly,  and  joined  with  us  in  repeating  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

The  public  service  followed  at  half-past  ten  o'clock.  This, 
morning  service  was  always  in  English,  although  the  hymns, 
lessons,  and  text  would  be  announced  in  the  two  languages.  The 
Hudson's  Bay  officials  who  might  be  at  the  Fort  two  miles  away, 
and  all  their  employes,  regularly  attended  this  morning  service. 
Then,  as  many  of  the  Indians  understood  English,  and  our  object 
was  ever  to  get  them  all  to  know  more  and  more  about  it,  this 
service  usually  was  largely  attended  by  the  people.  The  great 
Indian  service  was  held  in  the  afternoon.  It  was  all  their  own, 
and  was  very  much  prized  by  them.  At  the  morning  service 
they  were  very  dignified  and  reserved;  at  the  afternoon  they 
sang  with  an  enthusiasm  that  was  delightful,  and  were  not 
afraid,  if  their  hearts  prompted  them  to  it,  to  come  out  with  a 
glad  "  Amen  ! " 

They  bring  with  them  to  the  sanctuary  their  Bibles,  and  very 
sweet  to  my  ears  was  the  rustle  of  many  leaves  as  they  rapidly 
turned  to  the  Lessons  of  the  day  in  the  Old  or  New  Testament. 
Sermons  were  never  considered  too  long.  Very  quietly  and 
reverently  did  the  people  come  into  the  house  of  God,  and  with 
equal  respect  for  the  place,  and  for  Him  Whom  there  they  had 
worshipped,  did  they  depart.  Dr.  Taylor,  one  of  our  missionary 
secretaries,  when  visiting  us,  said  at  the  close  of  one  of  these 
hallowed  afternoon  services,  "  Mr.  Young,  if  the  good  people  who 
help  us  to  support  Missions  and  missionaries  could  see  what 
my  eyes  have  beheld  to-day,  they  would  most  cheerfully  and 
gladly  give  us  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year  more  for  our  Indian 
Missions." 

Every  Sunday  evening  I  went  over  to  the  Fort,  by  canoe  in 
summer,  and  dog-train  in  winter,  and  held  service  there.  A 
little  chapel  had  been  specially  fitted  up  for  these  evening  services. 
Another  service  was  also  held  in  the  church  at  the  Mission  by 
the  Indians  themselves.  There  were  among  them  several  who 
could  preach  very  acceptable  sermons,  and  others  who,  with  a 
burning  eloquence,  could  tell,  like  Paul,  the  story  of  their  own 


62  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

conversion,  and  beseech  others  to  be  likewise  reconciled  to 
God. 

We  were  surprised  at  times  by  seeing  companies  of  pagan 
Indians  stalk  into  the  church  during  the  services,  not  always 
acting  in  a  way  becoming  to  the  house  or  day.  At  first  it  was 
a  matter  of  surprise  to  me  that  our  Christian  Indians  put  up 
with  some  of  these  irregularities.  I  was  very  much  astounded 
one  day  by  the  entrance  of  an  old  Indian  called  Tapastanum, 
who,  rattling  his  ornaments,  and  crying,  "  Ho  !  Ho  !  "  came  into 
the  church  in  a  sort  of  trot,  and  gravely  kissed  several  of  the 
men  and  women.  As  my  Christian  Indians  seemed  to  stand 
the  interruption,  I  felt  that  I  could.  Soon  he  sat  down,  at  the 
invitation  of  Big  Tom,  and  listened  to  me.  He  was  grotesquely 
dressed,  and  had  a  good-sized  looking-glass  hanging  on  his  breast, 
kept  in  its  place  by  a  string  hung  around  his  neck.  To  aid 
himself  in  listening,  he  lit  his  big  pipe  and  smoked  through  the 
rest  of  the  service.  When  I  spoke  to  the  people  afterwards 
about  the  conduct  of  this  man,  so  opposite  to  their  quiet,  respect- 
ful demeanour  in  the  house  of  God,  their  expressive,  charitable 
answer  was  :  "  Such  were  we  once,  as  ignorant  as  Tapnstanum 
is  now.  Let  us  have  patience  with  him,  and  perhaps  he,  too, 
will  soon  decide  to  give  his  heart  to  God.  Let  him  come ;  he 
will  get  quiet  when  he  gets  the  light." 

The  week  evenings  were  nearly  all  filled  up  with  services  of 
one  kind  or  another,  and  were  well  attended,  or  otherwise,  accord- 
ing as  the  Indians  might  be  present  at  the  village,  or  away 
hunting,  or  fishing,  or  "  tripping"  tor  the  Hudson's  Bay 'Company. 
What  pleased  us  very  much  was  the  fact  that  in  the  homes 
of  the  neople  there  were  so  many  family  altars.  It  was  very 
delightful  to  take  a  quiet  walk  in  the  gloaming  through  the 
village,  and  hear  from  so  many  little  homes  the  voice  of  the 
head  of  the  fnmily  reading  the  precious  volume,  or  the  sounds  of 
prayer  and  praise.  Those  were  times  when  in  every  professed 
Christian  home  in  the  village  there  wap  a  family  altar. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

CONSTANT  PROGRESS— WOMAN'S  SAD  CONDITION  IN  PAGANISM— ILLUS- 
TRATIONS—WONDROUS  CHANGES  PRODUCED  BY  CHRISTIANITY — 
ILLUSTRATIONS— NEW  YEAR'S  DAY  CHRISTIAN  FESTIVAL — THE  AGED 
AND  FEEBLE  ONES  FIRST  REMEMBERED— CLOSING  THANKSGIVING 
SERVICES. 

WE  found  ourselves  in  a  Christian  village  surrounded  by 
paganism.  The  contrast  between  the  two  classes  was  very 
evident. 

Our  Christians,  as  fast  as  they  were  able  to  build,  were  living 
in  comfortable  houses,  and  earnestly  endeavouring  to  lift  them- 
selves up  in  the  social  circle.  Their  personal  appearance  was 
better,  and  cleanliness  was  accepted  as  next  to  godliness.  On  the 
Sabbaths  they  were  well  dressed,  and  presented  such  a  respectable 
and  devout  appearance  in  the  sanctuary  as  to  win  the  admiration 
of  all  who  visited  us.  The  great  majority  of  those  who  made 
a  profession  of  faith  lived  honest,  sober,  and  consistent  lives,  and 
thus  showed  the  genuineness  of  the  change  wrought  in  them  by 
the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God. 

One  of  the  most  delightful  and  tangible  evidences  of  the 
thoroughness  and  genuineness  of  the  change  was  seen  in  the 
improvement  in  the  family  life.  Such  a  thing  as  genuine  home 
life,  with  mutual  love  and  sympathy  existing  among  the  different 
members  of  the  family,  was  unknown  in  their  pagan  state.  The 
men,  and  even  boys,  considered  it  a  sign  of  courage  and  manliness 
to  despise  and  shamefully  treat  their  mothers,  wives,  or  sisters. 
Christianity  changed  all  this ;  and  we  were  constant  witnesses  of 
the  genuineness  of  the  change  wrought  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of 


64  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

this  people  by  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  by  seeing  how  woman 
was  uplifted  from  her  degraded  position  to  her  true  place  in  the 
household. 

My  heart  was  often  pained  at  what  I  saw  among  some  of  the 
wild  savage  bands  around  us.  When,  by  canoe  in  summer,  or 
dog-train  in  winter,  I  have  visited  these  wild  men,  I  have  seen 
the  proud,  lazy  hunter  come  stalking  into  the  camp  with  his  gun 
on  his  shoulder,  and  in  loud,  imperative  tones  shout  out  to  his 
poor  wife,  who  was  busily  engaged  in  cutting  wood,  "  Get  up 
there,  you  dog,  my  squaw,  and  go  back  on  my  tracks  in  the  woods, 
and  bring  in  the  deer  I  have  shot ;  and  hurry,  for  I  want  my 
food ! "  To  quicken  her  steps,  although  she  was  hurrying  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  a  stick  was  thrown  at  her,  which  fortunately 
she  was  able  to  dodge. 

Seizing  the  long  carrying  strap,  which  is  a  piece  of  leather 
several  feet  in  length,  and  wide  at  the  middle,  where  it  rests 
against  the  forehead  when  in  use,  she  rapidly  glides  away  on  the 
trail  made  by  her  husband's  snow-shoes,  it  may  be  for  miles,  to 
the  spot  where  lies  the  deer  he  has  shot.  Fastening  one  end  of 
the  strap  to  the  haunches  of  the  deer,  and  the  other  around  its 
neck,  after  a  good  deal  of  effort  and  ingenuity,  she  succeeds  at 
length  in  getting  the  animal,  which  may  weigh  from  a  hundred- 
and  fifty  to  two  hundred  pounds,  upon  her  back,  supported  by 
the  strap  across  her  forehead.  Panting  with  fatigue,  she  comes 
in  with  her  heavy  burden,  and  as  she  throws  it  down  she  is  met 
with  a  sharp  stern  command  from  the  lips  of  the  despot  called 
her  husband,  who  has  thought  it  beneath  his  dignity  &  carry  in 
the  deer  himself,  but  who  imagines  it  to  be  a  sign  of  his  being  a 
great  brave  thus  to  treat  his  wife.  The  gun  was  enough  for  him 
to  carry.  Without  giving  the  poor  tired  creature  a  moment's 
rest,  he  shouts  out  again  for  her  to  hurry  up  and  be  quick ;  he 
is  hungry,  and  wants  his  dinner. 

The  poor  woman,  although  almost  exhausted,  knows  full  well, 
by  the  bitter  experiences  of  the  past,  that  to  delay  an  instant 
would  bring  upon  herself  severe  punishment,  and  so  she  quickly 
seizes  the  scalping  knife  and  deftly  skins  the  animal,  and  fills 
a  pot  with  the  savoury  venison,  which  is  soon  boiled  and  placed 


SURROUNDED  BY  PAGANISM.  %       65 

before  his  highness.  While  he,  and  the  men  and  boys  whom  he 
may  choose  to  invite  to  eat  with  him,  are  rapidly  devouring  the 
venison,  the  poor  woman  has  her  first  moments  of  rest.  She  goes 
and  seats  herself  down  where  women  and  girls  and  dogs  are  con- 
gregated, and  there  women  and  dogs  struggle  for  the  half-picked 
bones  which  the  men,  with  derisive  laughter,  throw  among  them  ! 

This  was  one  of  the  sad  aspects  of  paganism  which  I  often  had 
to  witness  as  I  travelled  among  those  bands  that  had  not,  up  to 
that  time,  accepted  the  Gospel.  When  these  poor  women  get  old 
and  feeble,  very  sad  and  deplorable  is  their  condition.  When 
able  to  toil  and  slave,  they  are  tolerated  as  necessary  evils. 
When  aged  and  weak,  they  are  shamefully  neglected,  and,  often, 
put  out  of  existence. 

One  of  the  missionaries,  on  visiting  a  pagan  band,  preached  from 
those  blessed  words  of  the  Saviour :  "  Come  unto  Me,  all  ye  that 
labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  In  his 
sermon  he  spoke  about  life's  toils  and  burdens,  and  how  all  men 
had  to  work  and  labour.  The  men  of  the  congregation  were 
very  angry  at  him ;  and  at  an  indignation  meeting  which  they 
held,  they  said,  "  Let  him  go  to  the  squaws  with  that  kind  of 
talk.  They  have  to  carry  all  the  heavy  burdens,  and  do  the 
hard  work.  Such  stuff  as  that  is  not  for  us  men,  but  for  the 
women."  So  they  were  offended  at  him. 

At  a  small  Indian  settlement  on  the  north-eastern  shores  of 
Lake  Winnipeg  livsd  a  chief  by  the  name  of  Moo-koo-woo-soo, 
who  deliberately  strangled  his  mother,  and  then  burnt  her  body 
to  ashes.  When  questioned  about  the  horrid  deed,  he  coolly  and 
heartlessly  said  that  as  she  had  become  too  old  to  snare  rabbits 
or  catch  fish,  he  was  not  going  to  be  bothered  with  keeping  her, 
and  so  he  deliberately  put  her  to  death:  Such  instances  could 
be  multiplied  many  times.  Truly  "  the  tender  mercies  of  the 
wicked  are  cruel." 

In  delightful  contrast  to  these  sad  sights  among  the  degraded 
savages  around  us,  were  the  kindly  ways  and  happy  homes  of 
our  converted  Indians.  Among  them  a  woman  occupied  her 
true  position,  and  was  well  and  lovingly  treated.  The  aged  and 
infirm,  who  but  for  the  Gospel  would  have  been  dealt  with  as 

5 


66  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

Moo-koo-woo-soo  dealt  with  his  mother,  had  the  warmest  place 
in  the  little  home  and  the  daintiest  morsel  on  the  table.  I  have 
seen  the  sexton  of  the  church  throw  wide  open  the  door  of  the 
sanctuary,  that  two  stalwart  young  men  might  easily  enter, 
carrying  in  their  arms  their  invalid  mother,  who  had  expressed 
a  desire  to  come  to  the  house  of  God.  Tenderly  they  supported 
her  until  the  service  ended,  and  then  they  lovingly  carried  her 
home  again.  But  for  the  Gospel's  blessed  influences  on  their 
haughty  natures  they  would  have  died  ere  doing  such  a  thing 
for  a  woman,  even  though  she  were  their  own  mother. 

Life  for  the  women  was  not  now  all  slavery.  They  had  their 
happy  hours,  and  knew  well  how  to  enjoy  them.  Nothing,  how- 
ever, seemed  so  to  delight  them  as  to  be  gliding  about  in  the 
glorious  summer  time  in  their  light  canoes.  And  sometimes, 
combining  pleasure  with  profit,  many  a  duck  was  shot  by  these 
young  Indian  maidens. 

This  changed  feeling  towards  the  aged  and  afflicted  ones  we 
have  seen  manifested  in  a  very  expressive  and  blessed  way  at 
the  great  annual  New  Year's  Feast.  It  was  customary  for  the 
Indians,  long  before  they  became  Christians,  to  have  a  great 
feast  at  the  beginning  of  the  New  Year.  In  the  old  times,  the 
principal  article  of  food  at  these  horrid  feasts  was  dogs,  the  eating 
of  which  was  accompanied  by  many  revolting  ceremonies.  The  mis- 
sionaries, instead  of  abolishing  the  feast,  turned  it  into  a  religious 
festival.  I  carried  out  the  methods  of  my  worthy  predecessors  at 
Norway  House,  and  so  we  had  a  feast  every  New  Year's  Day. 

The  Crees  call  this  day  "  Ooche-me-gou  Kesigow,"  which 
literally  means  "  the  kissing  day,"  as  on  this  day  the  men  claim 
the  right  to  kiss  every  woman  they  meet ;  and,  strange  to  say, 
every  woman  expects  to  be  kissed.  It  used  to  amuse  me  very 
much  to  see  thirty  or  forty  Indians,  dressed  up  in  their  finest 
apparel,  come  quietly  marching  into  the  Mission  House,  and 
gravely  kiss  Mrs.  Young  on  her  cheek.  When  I  used  to  rally 
her  over  this  strange  phase  of  unexpected  missionary  experience, 
she  would  laughingly  retort,  "  O,  you  need  not  laugh  at  me.  See 
that  crowd  of  women  out  there  in  the  yard,  expecting  you  to  go 
out  and  kiss  them  1 "  It  was  surprising  how  much  work  that 


68  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

day  kept  me  shut  in  my  study ;  or  if  that  expedient  -w  ould  not 
avail,  I  used  to  select  a  dear  old  sweet-faced,  white-haired 
grandma,  the  mother  of  the  chief,  and  say,  "  Now  I  am  going  to 
kiss  grandma ;  and  as  I  kiss  her  you  must  all  consider  yourselves 
kissed."  This  institution  is  more  ancient  among  them  than 
shaking  hands,  about  which  they  knew  nothing  until  it  was 
introduced  by  the  whites. 

For  weeks  before  New  Year's  Day  great  preparations  were 
made  for  the  feast.  A  council  would  be  called,  and  the  men 
would  have  recorded  what  they  were  willing  to  give  towards  it. 
Some,  who  were  good  deer-hunters,  promised  venison.  Others 
promised  so  many  beavers.  Perhaps  there  were  those  who  knew 
where  bears  had  made  their  winter  dens,  and  they  agreed  to  go 
and  kill  them  for  tlie  feast.  Others,  who  were  good  fur-hunters, 
stated  their  willingness  to  exchange  some  of  the  furs  they  would 
catch  for  flour  and  tea  and  sugar  at  the  trading  post. 

Thus  the  business  went  on,  until  enough  was  promised,  with 
the  liberal  supplies  given  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  officials 
and  the  missionary,  to  make  the  affair  a  great  success.  An  out- 
building of  the  Mission,  called  "the  fish  house,"  was  the  place 
where  all  these  various  things,  as  they  were  obtained,  were  stored. 
Months  were  sometimes  consumed  in  collecting  the  meat.  But 
Jack  Frost  is  a  good  preservative,  and  so  nothing  spoiled.  A 
few  days  before  the  feast,  Mrs.  Young  would  select  several  of  the 
Indian  women,  and  under  her  superintendency  the  various  supplies 
would  be  cooked.  Very  clever  were  these  willing  helpers ;  and  in 
a  short  time  a  quantity  of  food  would  be  piled  up,  sufficient  for 
all,  although  it  is  well  known  that  Indians  have  good  appetites. 

When  the  great  day  arrived,  the  men  quickly  removed  the 
seats  out  of  the  church,  and  there  put  up  long  tables.  Great 
boilers  of  tea  were  made  ready,  and  every  preparation  was  com- 
pleted for  a  good  time.  But,  before  a  mouthful  was  eaten  by 
any  of  the  eight  hundred  or  thousand  persons  present,  the  chief 
used  to  ask  me  for  a  pencil  and  a  piece  of  writing  paper ;  and 
then,  standing  up  on  a  box  or  bench,  he  would  shout  out,  "  How 
many  of  our  people  are  aged,  or  sick,  or  afflicted,  and  cannot  be 
with  us  to-day  ? "  As  one  name  after  another  was  mentioned, 


THE  NEW  YEAR'S  FEAST.  '.      69 

he  rapidly  wrote  them  down.  Then  he  read  over  the  list,  and 
said,  "  Let  us  not  forget  any  one."  Somebody  shouted  out, 
"  There  is  an  old  woman  ten  miles  up  the  river  towards  the  old 
Fort."  Somebody  else  said,  "  Have  you  the  name  of  that  boy 
who  was  accidentally  shot  in  the  leg  ? "  Their  names  were  both 
put  down.  Then  somebody  says,  "  There  are  two  or  three  left 
behind  in  the  tent  of  the  pagans,  while  the  rest  have  come  to  the 
feast."  "  Let  us  feed  those  who  have  come,  and  send  something 
with  our  kind  greetings  to  the  others,"  is  the  unanimous  response. 

When  it  was  certain  that  none  had  been  overlooked,  a  request 
was  made  to  me  for  all  the  old  newspapers  and  packing  paper 
I  could  give  them,  and  soon  loving  hands  were  busily  engaged  in 
cutting  off  large  pieces  of  different  kinds  of  meat  and  arranging 
them  with  the  largo  flat  cakes  in  generous  bundles.  To  these 
were  added  little  packages  of  tea  and  sugar.  In  this  way  as 
many  large  bundles — each  containing  an  assortment  of  every- 
thing at  the  feast — would  be  made  up  as  there  were  names  on 
the  paper.  Then  the  chief  would  call  in,  from  where  the  young 
men  were  busily  engaged  in  playing  football,  as  many  of  the 
fleet  runners  as  there  were  bundles,  and  giving  each  his  load, 
would  indicate  the  person  to  whom  he  was  to  give  it,  and  also 
would  add,  "  Give  them  our  New  Year's  greetings  and  sympathy, 
and  tell  them  we  are  sorry  they  cannot  be  with  us  to-day." 

Very  delightful  were  these  sights  to  us.  Such  things  paid  us 
a  thousandfold  for  our  hardships  and  sufferings.  Here,  before 
a  mouthful  was  eaten  by  the  healthy  and  vigorous  ones,  large 
generous  bundles,  that  would  last  for  days,  were  sent  off  to  the 
aged  and  infirm  or  wounded  ones,  who  in  all  probability,  but  for 
the  blessed  influences  of  the  Gospel,  if  not  quickly  and  cruelly 
put  out  of  existence,  would  have  been  allowed  to  linger  on  in 
neglect  and  wretchedness. 

Even  the  young  runners  seemed  to  consider  that  it  was  an 
honour  to  be  permitted  to  carry  these  bundles,  with  the  loving 
messages,  to  the  distant  homes  or  wigwams  where  the  afflicted 
ones  were.  It  was  quite  amusing  to  watch  them  tighten  up 
their  belts  and  dash  off  like  deers.  Some  of  them  had  several 
miles  to  go ;  but  what  cared  they  on  this  glad  day  ? 


70  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

According  to  seniority  the  tables  were  filled,  and  the  feast 
began  as  soon  as  the  "  Grace  before  Meat "  had  been  sung.  Mrs. 
Young  had  her  own  long  table,  and  to  it  she  invited  not  only  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  people,  but  as  many  of  the  aged  and 
worthy  from  among  the  poor  Indians  as  we  wished  specially  to 
honour.  Sometimes  we  filled  one  table  with  wild  pagans  who 
had  come  in  from  some  distant  forest  home,  attracted  by  the 
reports  of  the  coming  great  feast.  Through  their  stomachs  we 
sometimes  reached  their  hearts,  and  won  them  to  Christ. 

Thus  for  hours  the  feast  continued,  until  all  had  been  supplied. 
None  were  neglected,  and  everybody  was  happy.  Then  with  a 
glad  heart  they  sang  : 

"  Praise  God,  from  Whom  all  blessings  flow." 

When  all  the  guests  were  satisfied,  what  was  left  was  carried 
oft'  by  the  needy  ones,  among  whom  it  was  generously  divided  ;  the 
tables  were  quickly  taken  down  by  the  men,  and  the  church  was 
speedily  swept  clean  by  some  active  women.  The  seats  and  pews 
were  replaced,  and  every  arrangement  was  made  for  the  great 
annual  New  Year's  Meeting.  The  church  was  lit  up ;  and  when 
the  audience  had  gathered,  a  chairman  was  appointed,  and,  after 
singing  and  prayer,  speeches  were  made  by  several  of  the 
Indians. 

Many  pleasant  and  many  sensible  things  were  said.  Some  of 
the  sober-minded  ones  reviewed  the  year  just  gone,  with  all  its 
blessings  and  mercies,  and  expressed  the  hope  that  the  one  on 
which  they  had  entered  would  be  crowned  with  blessin-gs.  Some 
of  the  speeches  referred  to  Treaty  matters  with  the  Government, 
and  others  were  in  reference  to  their  huntings  and  fisheries. 
Some  were  bright  and  witty,  and  were  received  with  laughter 
and  applause.  Others  were  of  a  serious,  religious  character,  and 
were  equally  welcome,  and  touched  responsive  hearts.  With 
pleasure  I  noticed  that  in  them  all  the  most  frequent  word  was 
"  Na-nas-koomoo-win-ah,"  which  means  "  Thanksgiving,"  and  for 
this  my  heart  rejoiced.  Thus  ended,  with  the  Doxology  and 
Benediction,  these  happy  days,  in  which  we  saw  so  many  evidences 
that  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  had  not  been  in  vain. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

OXFORD  HOUSE  MISSION— VISITED  BY  CANOE— DESCRIPTION  OF  THIS 
USEFUL  CRAFT — INDIAN  SKILL — OXFORD  LAKE— DR.  TAYLOR — 
EDWARD  PAPANEKIS — STILL  ON  THE  TRAIL  BY  BIRCH  CANOE — 
NARROW  ESCAPE  FROM  BEING  CRUSHED  BY  THE  ICE — ON  STORMY 
LAKE  WINNIPEG  —  PIONEERING  FARTHER  NORTH  —  SUCCESSES — 
'*  SHOW  US  THE  FATHER,  AND  IT  SUFFICETH  US  " — CHRIST  ACCEPTED 
IN  THE  PLACE  OF  IDOLS. 

I  HAD  received  instructions  from  the  Missionary  Secretaries  to 
visit  Oxford  Mission  as  soon  as  possible,  and  to  do  all  I  could 
for  its  upbuilding.  This  Mission  had  had  a  good  measure  of 
success  in  years  gone  by.  A  church  and  Mission  house  had  been 
built  at  Jackson's  Bay,  and  many  of  the  Indians  had  been  con- 
verted. But  the  village  was  too  far  from  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company's  Post,  where  the  Indians  traded,  and  where  naturally 
they  gathered.  For  several  years  the  work  had  been  left  in 
charge  of  a  native  teacher.  The  people  regretted  the  absence 
of  an  ordained  Missionary,  and  the  place  suffered  accordingly. 
Making  all  the  arrangements  I  could  for  the  successful  prosecution 
of  the  work  in  my  absence,  I  left  Norway  House  in  a  small  canoe, 
manned  by  two  of  my  Christian  Indians,  one  of  whom  was  my 
interpreter.  With  this  wonderful  little  boat  I  was  now  to  make 
my  first  intimate  acquaintance.  For  this  wild  land  of  broad 
lakes  and  rapid  rivers  and  winding  creeks,  the  birch -bark  canoe 
is  the  boat  of  all  others  most  admirably  fitted.  It  is  to  the 
Indian  denizen  here  what  the  horse  is  to  his  more  warlike  red 
brother  on  the  great  prairies,  or  what  the  camel  is  to  those  who 
live  and  wander  amidst  Arabian  deserts.  The  canoe  is  absolutely 
essential  to  these  natives  in  this  land,  where  there  are  no  other 


72  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

roads  than  the  intricate  devious  water  routes.  It  is  the  frailest 
of  all  boats,  yet  it  can  be  loaded  down  to  the  water's  edge,  and, 
under  the  skilful  guidance  of  these  Indians,  who  are  unquestion' 
ably  the  finest  canoe  men  in  the  world,  it  can  be  made  to  respond 
to  the  sweep  of  their  paddles,  so  that  it  seems  almost  instinct 
with  life  and  reason.  What  they  can  do  in  it,  and  with  it, 
appeared  to  me  at  times  perfectly  marvellous.  Yet  when  we 
remember  that  for  about  five  months  of  every  year  some  of  the 
hunters  almost  live  in  it,  this  may  not  seem  so  very  wonderful. 
It  carries  them  by  day,  and  in  it,  or  under  it,  they  often  sleep 
by  night.  At  the  many  portages  which  have  to  be  made  in  this 
land,  where  the  rivers  are  so  full  of  falls  and  rapids,  one  man 
can  easily  carry  it  on  his  head  to  the  smooth  water  beyond.  In 
it  we  have  travelled  thousands  of  miles,  while  going  from  place 
to  place  with  the  blessed  tidings  of  salvation  to  these  wandering 
bands  scattered  over  my  immense  Circuit.  Down  the  wild  rapids 
we  have  rushed  for  miles  together,  and  then  out  into  great 
Winnipeg,  or  other  lakes,  so  far  from  shore  that  the  distant 
headlands  were  scarce  visible.  Foam-crested  waves  have  often 
seemed  as  though  about  to  overwhelm  us,  and  treacherous  gales 
to  swamp  us,  yet  my  faithful,  well-trained  canoe  men  were 
always  equal  to  every  emergency,  and  by  the  accuracy  of  their 
judgment,  and  the  quickness  of  their  movements,  appeared  ever 
to  do  exactly  the  right  thing  at  the  right  moment.  As  the  result, 
I  came  at  length  to  feel  as  much  at  home  in  a  canoe  as  any- 
where else,  and  with  God's  blessing  was  permitted  to  make  many 
long  trips  to  those  who  could  not  be  reached  in  any  other  way, 
except  by  dog -trains  in  winter. 

Good  canoe-makers  are  not  many,  and  so  really  good  canoes 
are  always  in  demand. 

Frail  and  light  as  this  Indian  craft  may  be,  there  is  a  great 
deal  of  skill  and  ingenuity  required  in  its  construction. 

Great  care  is  requisite  in  taking  the  bark  from  the  tree.  A 
long  incision  is  first  made  longitudinally  in  the  trunk  of  the  tree. 
Then,  from  this  cut,  the  Indian  begins,  and  with  his  keen  knife 
gradually  peels  off  the  whole  of  the  bark,  as  high  up  as  his 
incision  went,  in  one  large  piece  or  sheet.  And  even  now  that 


TAKING  THE  BARK  FROM  THE  TREES  FOR  CANOE-MAKING. 


74  BY  CANOE  AND 

he  has  safely  got  it  off  the  tree,  the  greatest  care  is  necessary  in 
handling  it,  as  it  will  split  or  crack  very  easily.  Cedar  is  pre- 
ferred for  the  woodwork,  and  when  it  can  possibly  be  obtained, 
is  always  used.  But  in  the  section  of  the  country  where  I  lived, 
as  we  were  north  of  the  cedar  limit,  the  canoe-makers  used  pieces 
of  the  spruce  tree,  split  very  thin,  as  the  best  substitute  for 
cedar  that  our  country  afforded. 

All  the  sewing  of  the  pieces  of  birch  bark  together,  and  the 
fastening  of  the  whole  to  the  outer  frame,  is  done  with  the  long 
slender  roots  of  the  balsam  or  larch  trees,  which  are  soaked  and 
rubbed  until  they  are  as  flexible  as  narrow  strips  of  leather. 
When  all  the  sewing  is  done,  the  many  narrow  limber  pieces 
of  spruce  are  crowded  into  their  places,  giving  the  whole  canoe 
its  requisite  proportions  and  strength.  Then  the  seams  and  weak 
spots  are  well  covered  over  with  melted  pitch,  which  the  Indians 
obtain  from  the  spruce  and  balsam  trees. 

Great  care  is  taken  to  make  the  canoe  watertight.  To  accom- 
plish this,  the  boat  is  often  swung  between  trees  and  filled  with 
water.  Every  place  where  the  slightest  leak  is  discovered  is 
marked,  and,  when  the  canoe  is  emptied,  is  carefully  attended  to. 

Canoes  vary  in  style  and  size.  Each  tribe  using  them  has  its 
own  patterns,  and  it  was  to  me  an  ever  interesting  sight,  to 
observe  how  admirably  suited  to  the  character  of  the  lakes  and 
rivers  were  the  canoes  of  each  tribe  or  district. 

The  finest  and  largest  canoes  were  those  formerly  made  by  the 
Lake  Superior  Indians.  Living  on  the  shores  of  that  great  inland 
sea,  they  required  canoes  of  great  size  and  strength.  These 
"  great  north  canoes,"  as  they  were  called,  could  easily  carry  from 
a  dozen  to  a  score  of  paddlers,  with  a  cargo  of  a  couple  of  tons 
of  goods.  In  the  old  clays  of  the  rival  fur-traders,  these  great 
canoes  played  a  very  prominent  part.  Before  steam  or  even 
large  sailing  vessels  had  penetrated  into  those  northern  lakes, 
these  canoes  were  extensively  used.  Loaded  with  the  rich  furs 
of  those  wild  forests,  they  used  to  come  down  into  the  Ottawa, 
and  thence  on  down  that  great  stream,  often  even  as  far  as  to 
Montreal. 

Sir  George  Simpson,  the  energetic  but  despotic  and  unprincipled 


CANOES  AND   CANOE-MAKERS.  75 

governor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  for  many  years,  used  to 
travel  in  one  of  these  birch  canoes  all  the  way  from  Montreal  up 
the  Ottawa  on  through  Lake  Nipissing  into  Georgian  Bay ;  from 
thence  into  Lake  Superior,  on  to  Thunder  Bay.  From  this  place, 
with  indomitable  pluck,  he  pushed  on  back  into  the  interior, 
through  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  down  the  tortuous  river  Winni- 
peg into  the  lake  of  the  same  name.  Along  the  whole  length  of 
this  lake  he  annually  travelled,  in  spite  of  its  treacherous  storms 
and  annoying  head  winds,  to  preside  over  the  Council  and  attend 
to  the  business  of  the  wealthiest  fur-trading  company  that  ever 
existed,  over  which  he  watched  with  eagle  eye,  and  in  every 
department  of  which  his  distinct  personality  was  felt.  His 
famous  Iroquois  crew  are  still  talked  about,  and  marvellous  are 
the  stories  in  circulation  about  many  a  northern  camp  fire  of 
their  endurance  and  skill. 

How  rapid  the  changes  which  are  taking  place  in  this  world  of 
ours  !  It  seems  almost  incredible,  in  these  days  of  mighty  steam- 
ships going  almost  everywhere  on  our  great  waters,  to  think  that 
there  are  hundreds  of  people  still  living  who  distinctly  remember 
when  the  annual  trips  of  a  great  governor  were  made  from 
Montreal  to  Winnipeg  in  a  birch-bark  canoe,  manned  by  Indians. 

Of  this  light  Indian  craft  Longfellow  wrote : — 

"  Give  me  of  your  bark,  O  Birch  tree  1 
Of  your  yellow  bark,  0  Birch  tree  ! 
Growing  by  the  rushing  river, 
Tall  and  stately  in  the  valley  1 
I  a  light  canoe  will  build  me, 
Build  a  swift  canoe  for  sailing. 


14  Thus  the  Birch  canoe  was  btilded 
In  the  valley,  by  the  river, 
In  the  bosom  of  the  forest ; 
All  its  mystery  and  its  magic, 
All  the  brightness  of  the  birch  tree^ 
All  the  toughness  of  the  cedar, 
All  the  larch  tree's  supple  sinewi ; 
And  it  floated  on  the  river 
Liko  a  yellow  leaf  in  autumn, 
Like  a  yellow  water-lily." 


76  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

We  left  for  Oxford  Mission  on  the  8th  of  September.  The 
distance  is  over  two  hundred  miles,  through  the  wildest  country 
imaginable.  We  did  not  see  a  house— with  the  exception  of 
those  built  by  the  beavers — from  the  time  we  left  our  Mission 
home  until  we  reached  our  destination.  We  paddled  through 
a  bewildering  variety  of  picturesque  lakes,  rivers,  and  creeks. 
When  no  storms  or  fierce  head- winds  impeded  us,  we  were  able  to 
make  fifty  or  sixty  miles  a  day.  When  night  overtook  us,  we 
camped  on  the  shore.  Sometimes  it  was  very  pleasant  and 
romantic.  At  other  times,  when  storms  raged  and  we  wer** 
drenched  with  the  rain  so  thoroughly  that  for  days  we  had  not 
a  dry  stitch  upon  us,  it  was  not  quite  so  agreeable. 

We  generally  began  our  day's  journey  very  early  in  the 
morning,  if  the  weather  was  at  all  favourable,  and  paddled  on 
as  rapidly  as  possible,  since  we  knew  not  when  head-winds  might 
arise  and  stop  our  progress.  The  Oxford  route  is  a  very  diversi- 
fied one.  There  are  lakes,  large  and  small,  across  which  we  had 
to  paddle.  In  some  of  them,  when  the  wind  was  favourable,  our 
Indians  improvised  a  sail  out  of  one  of  our  blankets.  Lashing 
it  to  a  couple  of  oars,  they  lifted  it  up  in  the  favouring  wind, 
and  thus  very  rapidly  did  we  speed  on  our  way. 

At  times  we  were  in  broad  beautiful  rivers,  and  then  paddling 
along  in  little  narrow  creeks  amidst  the  reeds  and  rushes.  We 
passed  over,  or,  as  they  say  in  that  country,  "  made "  nine 
portages  around  picturesque  falls  or  rapids.  In  these  portages 
one  of  the  Indians  carried  the  canoe  on  his  head.  The  other 
made  a  great  load  of  the  bedding  and  provisions,  all  of*  which  he 
carried  on  his  back.  My  load  consisted  of  the  two  guns,  ammuni- 
tion, two  kettles,  the  bag  containing  my  changes  of  raiment,  and 
a  package  of  books  for  the  Indians  we  were  to  visit.  How  the 
Indians  could  run  so  quickly  through  the  portages  was  to  me  a 
marvel.  Often  the  path  was  but  a  narrow  ledge  of  rock  against 
the  side  of  the  great  granite  cliff.  At  other  times  it  was  through 
the  quaking  bog  or  treacherous  muskeg.  To  them  it  seemed  to 
make  no  difference.  On  they  went  with  their  heavy  loads  at  that 
swinging  Indian  stride  which  soon  left  me  far  behind.  On  some 
of  my  canoe  trips  the  portages  were  several  miles  long,  and 


TRIP  TO    OXFORD  LAKE.  77 

through  regions  so  wild  that  there  was  nothing  to  indicate  to 
me  the  right  direction.  When  we  were  making  them,  I  used 
to  follow  on  as  long  as  I  knew  I  was  in  the  right  way.  When 
I  lost  the  trail,  I  at  once  stopped  and  patiently  waited  until  one 
of  my  faithful  men,  having  carried  his  load  safely  to  the  end, 
would  come  back  for  me.  Quickly  picking  up  my  load,  he  would 
hurry  off,  and  even  then,  unencumbered  as  I  was,  it  was  often 
as  much  as  I  could  do  to  keep  up  with  him. 

Oxford  Lake  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  picturesque  lakes 
I  ever  saw.  It  is  between  twenty  and  thirty  miles  long  and 
several  miles  wide.  It  is  studded  with  islands  of  every  imagin- 
able variety.  Its  waters  are  almost  as  transparent  as  the  clear, 
fresh  air  above  it.  When  no  breath  ripples  its  surface,  one  can 
look  down  into  its  crystal  depths  and  see,  many  feet  below,  the 
great  fish  quietly  moving  about. 

To  visit  the  Indians  who  fish  in  its  waters,  and  hunt  upon 
its  shores,  I  once  brought  one  of  our  Missionary  Secretaries,  the 
eloquent  Rev.  Lachlin  Taylor,  D.D.  The  trip  down  had  not 
been  one  of  the  most  pleasant.  The  rains  had  drenched  him. 
and  the  mosquitoes  had  plagued  him  with  such  persistency,  thai 
he  loudly  bemoaned  his  lot  in  being  found  in  a  country  that  was 
cursed  with  such  abominable  animals. 

One  night  I  heard  him  muttering  between  his  efforts  to  get 
them  out  of  his  tent,  where  he  declared  they  were  attacking 
him  in  battalions: — 

"  They  throng  the  air,  and  darken  heaven, 
And  curse  this  Western  land." 

However,  when  we  reached  Oxford  Ltake,  the  mosquitoes  left 
us  for  a  time.  The  sun  came  out  in  splendour,  and  we  had  some 
days  of  rarest  beauty.  The  good  doctor  regained  his  spirits,  and 
laughed  when  I  rallied  him  on  some  of  his  strong  expressions 
about  the  country,  and  told  him  that  I  hoped,  as  the  result  of 
his  experience,  he,  as  all  Missionary  Secretaries  ought,  would  have 
a  good  deal  of  sympathy  for  the  Missionaries  who  live  in  such 
regions  for  years  together. 

We  camped  for  the  night  on  one  of  the  most  picturesque  points. 


78  BY  CANOE  AND   DOG-TRAIN. 

We  had  two  canoes,  and  to  man  them  four  Indians  from  our 
Norway  House  Mission.  As  the  doctor  was  an  enthusiastic 
fisherman,  he  decided  that  we  must  stop  there  during  the  forenoon, 
while  he  tried  his  hand.  His  first  haul  was  a  splendid  pike  over 
two  feet  long.  Great  was  his  excitement  as  his  success  was 
assured.  Eloquence  poured  from  him  ;  we  were  flooded  with  it. 
The  Indians  looked  on  in  amazement  while  he  talked  of  the 
beauties  of  the  lake  and  islands,  of  the  water  and  the  sky. 

"Wait  a  moment,  doctor,"  I  said.  "I  can  add  to  the  wild 
beauty  of  the  place  something  that  will  please  your  artistic  eye." 

I  requested  two  fine-looking  Indians  to  launch  one  of  the 
canoes,  and  to  quietly  paddle  out  to  the  edge  of  an  island  which 
abruptly  rose  from  the  deep,  clear  waters  before  us,  the  top  of 
which  had  on  it  a  number  of  splendid  spruce  and  balsams,  massed 
together  in  natural  beauty.  I  directed  the  men  to  drop  over  the 
side  of  the  canoe  a  long  fishing  line,  and  then,  posing  them  in 
striking  attitudes  in  harmony  with  the  place,  I  asked  them  to 
keep  perfectly  still  until  every  ripple  made  by  their  canoe  had 
died  away. 

I  confess  I  was  entranced  by  the  loveliness  of  the  sight.  The 
reflections  of  the  canoe  and  men,  and  of  the  islands  and  rocks, 
were  as  vivid  as  the  actual  realities.  So  clear  and  transparent 
was  the  water,  that  where  it  and  the  air  met  there  seemed  but  a 
narrow  thread  between  the  two  elements.  Not  a  breath  of  air 
stirred,  not  a  ripple  moved.  It  was  one  of  these  sights  which 
come  to  us  but  seldom  in  a  lifetime,  where  everything  is  in 
perfect  unison,  and  God  gives  us  glimpses  of  what  this  tvorld,  His 
footstool,  must  have  been  before  sin  entered. 

"  Doctor ,"  I  said  quietly,  for  my  heart  was  full  of  the  Doxology, 
"  tell  me  what  you  think  of  that  vision." 

Standing  up,  with  a  great  rock  beneath  his  feet,  in  a  voice  of 
suppressed  emotion  he  began.  Quietly  at  first  he  spoke,  but  soon 
he  was  carried  away  with  his  own  eloquence  : — 

"I  know  well  the  lochs  of  my  own  beloved  Scotland,  for  in 
many  of  them  I  have  rowed  and  fished.  I  have  visited  all  the 
famed  lakes  of  Ireland,  and  have  rowed  on  those  in  the  Lake 
counties  of  England.  I  have  travelled  far  and  oft  on  our  great 


80  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

American  lakes,  and  have  seen  Tahoe,  in  all  its  crystal  beauty. 
I  have  rowed  on  the  Bosphorus,  and  travelled  in  a  felucca  on 
the  Nile.  I  have  lingered  in  the  gondola  on  the  canals  of  Venice, 
and  have  traced  Rob  Roy's  canoe  in  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  and  on 
the  old  historic  Jordan.  I  have  seen,  in  my  wanderings  in  many 
lands,  places  of  rarest  beauty,  but  the  equal  of  this  mine  eyes 
have  never  gazed  upon." 

Never  after  did  I  see  the  lake  as  we  saw  it  that  day*. 

On  it  we  have  had  to  battle  against  fierce  storms,  where  the 
angry  waves  seemed  determined  to  engulf  us.  Once,  in  speeding 
along  as  well  as  we  could  from  island  to  island,  keeping  in  the 
lee  as  much  as  possible,  we  ran  upon  a  sharp  rock  and  stove  a 
hole  in  our  canoe.  We  had  to  use  our  paddles  desperately  to 
reach  the  shore,  and  when  we  had  done  so,  we  found  our  canoe 
half-full  of  water,  in  which  our  bedding  and  food  were  soaked. 
We  hurriedly  built  a  fire,  melted  some  pitch,  and  mended  our 
canoe,  and  hurried  on. 

On  this  lake,  which  can  give  us  such  pictures  of  wondrous 
beauty,  I  have  encountered  some  of  the  greatest  gales  and 
tempests  against  which  I  have  ever  had  to  contend,  even  in  this 
land  of  storms  and  blizzards.  Then  in  winter,  upon  its  frozen 
surface  it  used  to  seem  to  me  that  the  Frost  King  held  high 
carnival.  Terrible  were  the  sufferings  of  both  dogs  and  men  on 
some  of  those  trips.  One  winter,  in  spite  of  all  the  wraps  I  could 
put  around  me,  making  it  possible  for  me  to  run —  for  riding  was 
out  of  the  question,  so  intense  was  the  cold — every  part  of  my 
face  exposed  to  the  pitiless  blast  was  frozen.  My  noee,  cheeks, 
eyebrows,  and  even  lips,  were  badly  frozen,  and  for  days  after  I 
suffered.  Cuffy,  the  best  of  my  Newfoundland  dogs,  had  all  of 
her  feet  frozen,  and  even  Jack's  were  sore  for  many  a  day  after. 
My  loyal  Indians  suffered  also,  and  we  all  declared  Oxford  Lake 
to  be  a  cold  place  in  winter,  and  its  storms  worse  than  the 
summer  mosquitoes. 

The  Indians  of  Oxford  Lake  were  among  the  finest  in  all  the 
great  North- West.  It  was  ever  a  joy  to  meet  them  as  I  used  to 
do  once  in  summer  by  canoe  trip,  and  tten  again  in  winter  by 
dog-train.  God  blessed  my  visits  to  them.  The  old  members  were 


DANGERS  FROM  MOVING   ICE-FIELDS.  81 

cheered  and  comforted  as  the  Gospel  was  preached  to  them,  and 
the  Sacraments  administered.  Some  pagans  were  induced  to 
renounce  their  old  lives,  and  the  cause  of  religion  was  more  and 
more  established.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Brooking,  and,  later,  the  studious 
and  devoted  Rev.  Orrin  German,  did  blessed  service  in  that  lonely 
Mission.  At  the  present  time  the  Rev.  Edward  Papanekis  is  the 
acceptable  Missionary  there. 

Long  years  ago  I  found  Edward  a  careless,  sinful  young  man. 
Once  he  rushed  into  the  Mission  house  under  the  influence  of 
liquor,  and  threatened  to  strike  me.  But  the  blessed  truth 
reached  his  heart,  and  it  was  my  joy  to  see  him  a  humble  sup- 
pliant at  the  Cross.  His  heart's  desire  was  realised.  God  has 
blessedly  led  him  on,  and  now  he  is  faithfully  preaching  that 
same  blessed  Gospel  to  his  countrymen  at  Oxford  Mission. 

In  responding  to  the  many  Macedonian  cries  my  Circuit  Ijept  so 
enlarging  that  I  had  to  be  "  in  journeyings  often."  My  canoes 
were  sometimes  launched  in  spring,  ere  the  great  floating  ice-fields 
had  disappeared,  and  through  tortuous  open  channels  we  carefully 
paddled  our  way,  often  exposed  to  great  danger. 

On  one  of  these  early  trips  we  came  to  a  place  where  for  many 
miles  the  moving  ice  fields  stretched  out  before  us.  One  narrow 
channel  of  open  water  only  was  before  us.  Anxious  to  get  on, 
we  dashed  into  it,  and  rapidly  paddled  ourselves  along.  I  had  two 
experienced  Indians,  and  so  had  no  fear,  but  expected  some  novel 
adventures — and  had  them  with  interest. 

Our  hopes  were  that  the  wind  would  widen  the  channel,  and 
thus  let  us  into  open  water.  But,  to  our  disappointment,  when 
we  had  got  along  a  mile  or  so  in  this  narrow  open  space,  we  found 
the  ice  was  quietly  but  surely  closing  in  upon  us.  As  it  was  from 
four  to  six  feet  thick,  and  of  vast  extent,  there  was  power  enough 
in  it  to  crush  a  good-sized  ship ;  so  it  seemed  that  our  frail  birch- 
bark  canoe  would  have  but  a  poor  chance. 

1  saw  there  was  a  reasonable  possibility  that  when  the  crash 
came  we  could  spring  on  to  the  floating  ice.  But  what  should  we 
do  then  ?  was  the  question,  with  canoe  destroyed  and  us  on  floating 
ice  far  from  land. 

However,  as  my  Indians  kept  perfectly  cool,  I  said  nothing,  but 

6 


82  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

paddled  away  and  watched  for  the  development  of  events.  Nearer 
and  nearer  came  the  ice;  soon  our  channel  was  not  fifty  feet 
wide.  Already  behind  us  the  floes  had  met,  and  we  could  hear  the 
ice  grinding  and  breaking  as  the  enormous  masses  met  in  opposite 
directions.  Now  it  was  only  about  twenty  feet  from  side  to  side. 
Still  the  men  paddled  on,  and  I  kept  paddling  in  unison  with 
them.  When  the  ice  was  so  close  that  we  could  easily  touch  it  on 
either  side  with  our  paddles,  one  of  the  Indians  quietly  said, 
"Missionary,  will  you  please  give  me  your  paddle?"  I  quickly 
handed  it  to  him,  when  he  immediately  thrust  it  with  his  own 
into  the  water,  holding  down  the  ends  of  them  so  low  horizontally 
under  the  canoe  that  the  blade  end  was  out  of  water  on  the 
other  side  of  the  boat.  The  other  Indian  held  his  paddle  in 
the  same  position,  although  from  the  other  side  of  the  canoe. 
Almost  immediately  after  the  ice  crowded  in  upon  us.  But  as 
the  points  of  the  paddles  were  higher  than  the  ice,  of  course  they 
rested  upon  it  for  an  instant.  This  was  what  my  cool-headed, 
clever  men  wanted.  They  had  a  fulcrum  for  their  paddles,  and 
so  they  pulled  carefully  on  the  handle  ends  of  them,  and,  the 
canoe  sliding  up  as  the  ice  closed  in  and  met  with  a  crash  under 
us,  we  found  ourselves  seated  in  it  on  the  top  of  the  ice.  The 
craft,  although  only  a  frail  birch-bark  canoe,  was  not  in  the  least 
injured. 

As  we  quickly  sprang  out  of  our  canoe,  and  carried  it  away 
from  where  the  ice  had  met  and  was  being  ground  into  pieces  by 
the  momentum  with  which  it  met,  I  could  not  but  express  my 
admiration  to  my  men  at  the  clever  feat. 

After  some  exciting  work  we  reached  the  shore,  and  there 
patiently  waited  until  the  wind  and  sun  cleared  away  the  ice, 
and  we  could  venture  on.  My  plan  was  to  spend  at  least  a  week 
in  each  Indian  village  or  encampment,  preaching  three  times  a 
day,  and  either  holding  school  with  the  children,  or  by  personal 
entreaty  beseeching  men  and  women  to  be  reconciled  to  God. 
When  returning  from  the  visit,  which  was  a  very  successful  one, 
we  had  to  experience  some  of  the  inconveniences  of  travelling 
in  such  a  frail  bark  as  a  birch  canoe  on  such  a  stormy  lake  as 
Winnipeg. 


A  PROVIDENTIAL  ESCAPE.  83 

The  weather  had  been  very  unsettled,  and  so  we  had  cautiously 
paddled  from  point  to  point.  We  had  dinner  at  what  the  Indians 
call  Montreal  Point,  and  then  started  for  the  long  crossing  to 
Old  Norway  House  Point,  as  it  was  then  called.  It  is  a  very  long 
open  traverse,  and  as  lowering  clouds  threatened  us  we  pulled  on 
as  rapidly  as  our  three  paddles  could  propel  us.  When  out  a  few 
miles  from  land  the  storm  broke  upon  us,  the  wind  rose  rapidly, 
and  soon  we  were  riding  over  great  white-crested  billows.  My 
men  were  very  skilful,  and  we  had  no  fear ;  but  the  most  skilful 
management  was  necessary  to  safely  ride  the  waves,  which  soon 
in  size  were  rivalling  those  of  the  ocean.  A  canoe  is  a  peculiar 
craft,  and  requires  an  experienced  hand  in  these  great  storms. 

We  were  getting  on  all  right,  and  were  successfully  climbing 
the  big  waves  in  quick  succession,  alert  and  watchful  that  no 
sudden  erratic  move  should  catch  us  off  our  guard  and  overturn 
us.  At  length  we  met  a  wave  of  unusual  height,  and  succeeded 
in  climbing  up  into  its  foaming  crest  all  right.  Then  down  its 
side  our  little  craft  shot  with  the  apparent  velocity  of  a  sled 
down  a  toboggan  slide.  When  we  reached  the  bottom  of  this 
trough  of  the  sea,  our  canoe  slapped  so  violently  upon  the  water 
that  the  birch  bark  on  the  bottom  split  from  side  to  side.  Of 
course  the  water  rushed  in  upon  us  with  uncomfortable  rapidity. 
The  more  we  paddled  the  worse  the  water  entered,  as  the  exertion 
strained  the  boat  and  opened  the  rent.  Quickly  folding  up  a 
blanket,  I  carefully  placed  it  over  the  long  rent,  and  kneeled  down 
upon  it  to  keep  it  in  place.  The  man  in  the  front  of  the  canoe 
put  down  his  paddle,  and,  taking  up  the  kettle,  baled  as  rapidly 
as  he  could,  while  the  Indian  in  the  stern,  and  myself  in  the 
middle,  plied  our  paddles  for  dear  life.  We  turned  towards  the 
Spider  Islands,  which  were  over  a  mile  a. way,  and  by  vigorous 
work  succeeded  in  reaching  one  of  them,  although  our  cance  was 
half  full  of  water.  Then  could  we  enter  into  David's  words,  as 
for  life  we  struggled,  and  our  little  craft  was  tossed  on  the  cross 
sea  in  our  efforts  to  reach  a  place  of  safety :  "They  reel  to  and 
fro,  and  stagger  like  a  drunken  man,  and  are  at  their  wit's  end. 
Then  they  cry  unto  the  Lord  in  their  trouble,  and  He  bringeth 
them  out  of  their  distresses." 


84  BY  CANOE  AND  LOO-TRAIN. 

We  paddled  up  as  far  as  we  could  on  a  smooth  granite  rock 
that  came  out  gradually  in  the  water.  Then  out  we  sprang,  and 
strong  hands  dragged  our  little  canoe  up  beyond  the  reach  of 
the  waves.  We  hastily  pulled  out  our  dripping  blankets  and 
soaked  food  and  other  things,  and  then,  overturning  the  canoe, 
emptied  it  of  water;  and  as  we  saw  the  large  break  in  the  bottom, 
we  realised  as  we  had  not  before  the  danger  we  had  been  in,  and 
the  providential  escape  which  had  been  ours.  So,  with  glad 
hearts,  we  said,  "  We  do  c  praise  the  Lord  for  His  goodness,  and 
for  His  wonderful  works  to  the  children  of  men.' " 

We  quickly  built  a  fire,  and  melted  some  pitch,  a  quantity  of 
which  is  always  carried  ready  for  such  emergencies.  The  long 
rent  was  covered  over  with  a  piece  of  cloth  well  saturated  in  the 
boiling  pitch,  a  quantity  more  was  poured  over,  and  the  whole 
was  carefully  smoothed  out  over  the  weak  place.  Soon  it  cooled 
and  hardened,  and  the  work  was  done.  We  ate  a  little  food, 
and  then  launched  our  frail  craft  and  pushed  on.  No  serious 
accidents  again  troubled  us,  and  we  ended  this  long  canoe  trip, 
as  we  had  done  many  others,  thankful  that  we  had  such  blessed 
opportunities  to  go  to  the  remote  places  as  heralds  of  the  Cross, 
and  doubly  thankful  when  we  were  safe  at  home  again. 

On  one  of  my  canoe  trips,  when  looking  after  pagan  bands  in 
the  remote  Nelson  River  District,  I  had  some  singular  experiences, 
and  learned  some  important  lessons  about  the  craving  of  the 
pagan  heart  after  God. 

We  had  been  journeying  on  for  ten  or  twelve  days  'when  one 
night  we  camped  on  the  shore  of  a  lake-like  river.  While  my 
men  were  busily  employed  in  gathering  wood  and  cooking  the 
supper,  I  wandered  off  and  ascended  to  the  top  of  a  well  wooded 
hill  which  I  saw  in  the  distance.  Very  great  indeed  was  my 
surprise,  when  I  reached  the  top,  to  find  myself  in  the  presence 
of  the  most  startling  evidences  of  a  degraded  paganism. 

The  hill  had  once  been  densely  covered  with  trees,  but  about 
every  third  one  had  been  cut  down,  and  the  stumps,  which  had 
been  left  from  four  to  ten  feet  high,  had  been  carved  into  rude 
representations  of  the  human  form.  Scattered  arouD.d  were  the 


A   PLACE  OF  IDOLS  AND   DOG-OVENS.  85 

dog-ovens,  which  were  nothing  but  holes  dug  in  the  ground  and 
lined  with  stones,  in  which  at  certain  seasons,  as  part  of  their 
religious  ceremonies,  some  of  their  favourite  clogs — white  ones 
were  always  preferred — were  roasted,  and  then  devoured  by  the 
excited  crowd.  Here  and  there  were  the  tents  of  the  old  con- 
jurers and  medicine  men,  who,  combining  some  knowledge  of 
disease  and  medicine  with  a  great  deal  of  superstitious  abomina- 
tions, held  despotic  sway  over  the  people.  The  power  of  these 
old  conjurers  over  the  deluded  Indians  was  very  great.  They 
were  generally  lazy  old  fellows,  but  succeeded  nevertheless  in 
getting  the  best  that  was  going,  as  they  held  other  Indians  in 
such  terror  of  their  power,  that  gifts  in  the  shape  of  fish  and 
game  were  constantly  flowing  in  upon  them.  They  have  the 
secret  art  among  themselves  of  concocting  some  poisons  so  deadly 
that  a  little  put  in  the  food  of  a  person  who  has  excited  their 
displeasure  will  cause  death  almost  as  soon  as  a  dose  of  strychnine. 
They  have  other  poisons  which,  while  not  immediately  causing 
death  to  the  unfortunate  victims,  yet  so  affect  and  disfigure  them 
that,  until  death  releases  them,  their  sufferings  are  intense  and 
their  appearance  frightful. 

Here  on  this  hill  top  were  all  these  sad  evidences  of  the  de- 
graded condition  of  the  people.  I  wandered  around  and  examined 
the  idols,  most  of  which  had  in  front  of  them,  and  in  some 
instances  on  their  flat  heads,  offerings  of  tobacco,  food,  red  cotton, 
and  other  things.  My  heart  was  sad  at  these  evidences  of  such 
degrading  idolatry,  and  I  was  deeply  impressed  with  my  need  of 
wisdom  and  aid  from  on  high,  so  that  when  I  met  the  people 
who  here  worshipped  these  idols  I  might  so  preach  Christ  and 
Him  crucified  that  they  would  be  constrained  to  accept  Him  as 
their  all-sufficient  Saviour. 

While  there  I  lingered,  and  mused,  and  prayed,  the  shadows 
of  the  night  fell  on  me,  and  I  was  shrouded  in  gloom.  Then  the 
full  moon  rose  up  in  the  East,  and  as  her  silvery  beams  shone 
through  the  trees  and  lit  up  these  grotesque  idols,  the  scene 
presented  a  strange  weird  appearance.  My  faithful  Indians,  be- 
coming alarmed  at  my  long  absence — for  the  country  was  infested 
by  wild  animals — were  on  the  search  for  me,  when  I  returned  to 


86  BY  CANOE  AND  DOQ-TRAIN. 

the  camp  fire.  We  ate  our  evening  meal,  sang  a  hymn,  and 
bowed  in  prayer.  Then  we  wrapped  ourselves  up  in  our  blankets, 
and  lay  down  on  the  granite  rocks  to  rest.  Although  our  bed 
was  hard  and  there  was  no  roof  above  us,  we  slept  sweetly,  for 
the  day  had  been  one  of  hard  work  and  strange  adventure. 

After  paddling  about  forty  miles  the  next  day  we  reached  the 
Indians  of  that  section  of  the  country,  and  remained  several 
weeks  among  them.  With  the  exception  of  the  old  conjurers, 
they  all  received  me  very  cordially.  These  old  conjurers  had  the 
same  feelings  toward  me  as  those  who  made  silver  shrines  for 
Diana  of  Ephesus  had  toward  the  first  preachers  of  Christianity 
in  their  city.  They  trembled  for  their  occupation.  They  well 
knew  that  if  I  succeeded  in  inducing  the  people  to  become  Chris- 
tians their  occupation  would  be  gone,  and  they  would  have  to 
settle  down  to  work  for  their  own  living,  like  other  people,  or 
starve.  I  visited  them  as  I  did  the  rest  of  the  encampment,  but 
they  had  enmity  in  their  hearts  toward  me.  Of  all  their  efforts 
to  injure  or  destroy  me  of  course  I  knew  not.  That  their  threats 
were  many  I  well  understood ;  but  He  Who  had  said,  "  Lo,  I  am 
with  you  alway,"  mercifully  watched  over  me  and  shielded  me 
from  their  evil  deeds.  My  two  Indian  attendants  also  watched 
as  well  as  prayed,  with  a  vigilance  that  seemed  untiring.  Very 
pleasant,  indeed,  are  my  memories  of  my  faithful  Indian  com. 
rades  on  those  long  journeys.  Their  loyalty  and  devotion  could 
not  be  excelled.  Everything  that  they  could  do  for  my  safety  and 
happiness  was  cheerfully  done. 

We  held  three  religious  services  every  day,  and  between  these 
services  taught  the  people  to  read  in .  the  Syllabic  characters. 
One  day,  in  conversing  with  an  old  fine-looking  Indian,  I  said 
to  him,  "  What  is  your  religion  ?  If  you  have  any  clear  idea  of 
a  religion,  tell  me  in  what  you  believe." 

His  answer  was :  "  We  believe  in  a  good  Spirit  and  in  a  bad 
spirit." 

"  Why,  then,"  I  said,  "  do  you  not  worship  the  good  Spiric  ? 
I  came  through  your  sacred  grounds,  and  I  saw  where  you  had 
cut  down  some  trees.  Part  you  had  used  as  fuel  with  which  to 
cook  your  bear  or  deer  meat ;  out  of  the  rest  you  had  made  an 


INDIAN'S  EXPLANATION  OF  IDOLATRY.  87 

idol,  which  you  worship.  How  is  one  part  more  sacred  than  the 
other  I  Why  do  you  make  and  worship  idols  ?  " 

I  can  never  forget  his  answer,  or  the  impressive  and  almost 
passionate  way  in  which  the  old  man  replied  : — 

"  Missionary,  the  Indian's  mind  is  dark,  and  he  cannot  grasp 
the  unseen.  He  hears  the  great  Spirit's  voice  in  the  thunder 
and  storms.  He  sees  the  evidences  of  His  existence  all  around,  but 
neither  he  nor  his  fathers  have  ever  seen  the  great  Spirit,  or  any 
one  who  has ;  and  so  he  does  not  know  what  He  looks  like.  But 
man  is  the  highest  creature  that  he  knows  of,  and  so  he  makes  his 
idols  like  a  man,  and  calls  it  his  *  Manito.'  We  only  worship 
them  because  we  do  not  know  what  the  great  Spirit  looks  like, 
but  these  we  can  understand." 

Suddenly  there  flashed  into  my  mind  the  request  of  Philip  to 
the  Lord  Jesus  :  "  Show  us  the  Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us  J  "  and 
the  wonderful  answer :  "  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you, 
and  yet  hast  thou  not  known  Me,  Philip  ?  He  that  hath  seen 
Me  hath  seen  the  Father;  and  how  sayest  thou  then,  Show  us 
the  Father?" 

I  opened  my  Indian  Bible  at  that  wonderful  chapter  of 
disinterested  love,  the  fourteenth  of  John,  and  preached  unto 
them  Jesus,  in  His  two  natures,  Divine  and  human.  While 
emphasising  the  redemptive  work  of  the  Son  of  God,  I  referred 
to  His  various  offices  and  purposes  of  love  and  compassion,  His 
willingness  to  m«et  us  and  to  save  us  from  perplexity  and  doubt, 
as  well  as  from  sin.  I  spoke  about  Him  as  our  elder  Brother, 
so  intimately  allied  to  us,  and  still  retaining  His  human  form 
as  He  pleads  for  us  at  the  throne  of  God.  I  dwelt  upon 
these  delightful  truths,  and  showed  how  Christ's  love  had  so 
brought  Him  to  us,  that  with  the  eye  of  faith  we  could  see 
Him,  and  in  Him  all  of  God  for  which  our  hearts  craved. 
"  Whom  having  not  seen,  we  love ;  in  Whom,  though  now  we 
see  Him  not,  yet  believing,  we  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and 
full  of  glory." 

For  many  days  I  needed  no  other  themes.  They  listened 
attentively,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  applied  these  truths  to  their 
hearts  and  consciences  so  effectively  that  they  gladly  received 


88  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

them.  A  few  more  visits  effectually  settled  them  in  the  truth. 
They  have  cut  down  their  idols,  filled  up  the  dog-ovens,  torn  away 
the  conjurers'  tents,  cleared  the  forest,  and  banished  every  vestige 
of  the  old  life.  And  there,  at  what  is  called  "  the  Meeting  of 
the  Three  Rivers,"  on  that  very  spot  where  idols  were  worshipped 
amidst  horrid  orgies,  and  where  the  yells,  rattles,  and  drums  of 
the  old  conjurers  and  medicine  men  were  heard  continuously  for 
days  and  nights,  there  is  now  a  little  church,  where  these  same 
Indians,  transformed  by  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  are 
"  clothed  and  in  their  right  mind,  sitting  at  the  feet  of  Jesus." 

My  visits  to  Nelson  River  so  impressed  me  with  the  fact  of  the 
necessity  of  some  zealous  missionary  going  down  there  and  living 
among  the  people,  that,  in  response  to  appeals  made,  the  Rev. 
John  Semmens,  whose  heart  God  had  filled  with  missionary  zeal, 
and  who  had  come  out  to  assist  me  at  Norway  House,  nobly 
resolved  to  undertake  the  work.  He  was  admirably  fitted  for 
the  arduous  and  responsible  task.  But  no  language  of  mine  can 
describe  what  he  had  to  suffer.  His  record  is  on  high.  The 
Master  has  it  all,  and  He  will  reward.  Great  were  his  successes, 
and  signal  his  triumphs. 

At  that  place,  where  I  found  the  stumps  carved  into  idols, 
which  Brother  Semmens  has  so  graphically  described,  the  church, 
mainly  through  his  instrumentality  and  personal  efforts,  has  been 
erected.  In  the  last  letter  which  I  have  received  from  that  land, 
the  writer  says  :  "  The  Indians  now  all  profess  themselves  to  be 
Christians.  Scores  of  them  by  their  lives  and  testimonies  assure 
us  of  the  blessed  consciousness  that  the  Lord  Jesus  is  indeed  their 
own  loving  Saviour.  Every  conjuring  drum  has  ceased.  All 
ve.stiges  of  the  old  heathenish  life  are  gone,  we  believe  for  ever." 

"  The  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  shall  be  glad  for  them, 
and  the  desert  shall  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose." 

Grandly  has  this  prophecy  been  fulfilled,  and  dwarfs  into  insig- 
nificance all  the  sufferings  and  hardships  endured  in  the  pioneer 
work  which  I  had  in  beginning  this  Mission.  With  a  glad  heart 
I  rejoice  that  "  unto  me,  who  am  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints, 
is  this  grace  given,  that  I  should  preach  among  the  Gentiles  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  Christ," 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

THE  WILD  NORTH  LAND — THE  TWO  METHODS  OF  TRAVEL,  BY  CANOE  AND 
DOG-TRAIN — THE  NATIVE  DOGS — ST.  BERNARD  AND  NEWFOUND- 
LAND DOGS— THE  DOG  SLEDS — THE  GUIDE— THE  DOG  DRIVERS— 
THE  LONG  JOURNEYS — NIGHT  TRAVELLING— WONDROUS  VISIONS  OF 
THE  NIGHT. 

SO  destitute  are  these  wild  north  lands  of  roads  that  there  are 
really  no  distinct  words  in  the  languages  of  these  northern 
tribes  to  represent  land  vehicles.  In  translating  such  words  as 
"  waggon  "  or  "  chariot "  into  the  Cree  language,  a  word  similar 
to  that  for  "  dog  sled  "  had  to  be  used. 

No  surveyor,  up  to  the  years  about  which  I  am  writing,  had 
visited  those  regions,  and  there  were  literally  no  roads  as  under- 
stood in  civilised  lands. 

So  numerous  are  the  lakes  and  rivers  that  roads  are  unneces- 
sary to  the  Indian  in  the  summer  time.  With  his  light  birch 
canoe  he  can  go  almost  everywhere  he  desires.  If  obstructions 
block  up  his  passage,  all  he  has  to  do  is  to  put  his  little  canoe  on 
his  head,  and  a  short  run  will  take  him  across  the  portage,  or 
around  the  cataracts  or  falls,  or  over  the  height  of  land  to  some 
other  lake  or  sfream,  where  he  quickly  'embarks  and  continues 
ht  journey. 

All  summer  travelling  is  done  along  the  water  routes.  Naturally 
the  various  trading  posts  and  Indian  villages  or  encampments  are 
located  on  the  edges  of  the  lakes  or  rivers,  or  very  near  them,  so 
as  to  be  most  conveniently  reached  in  this  way.  So  short  are 
the  summers  that  there  are  only  about  five  months  of  open  water 
to  be  depended  upon  in  these  high  latitudes.  During  the  other 


90  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN". 

seven  months  the  dog  sled  is  the  only  conveyance  for  purposes 
of  travelling.  So  rough  and  wild  is  the  country  that  we  know 
of  no  vehicle  that  could  take  its  place,  and  no  animals  that  could 
do  the  work  of  the  dogs. 

As  the  years  of  toil  rolled  on,  my  Mission  field  or  Circuit  so 
enlarged  that  it  extended  irregularly  north  and  south  over  five 
hundred  miles,  with  a  width  in  some  places  of  over  three  hundred. 
In  summer  I  travelled  over  it  in  a  birch  canoe,  and  in  winter 
with  my  dog-trains. 

At  first  it  seemed  very  novel,  and  almost  like  child's  play,  to 
be  dragged  along  by  dogs,  and  there  was  almost  a  feeling  of 
rebellion  against  what  seemed  such  frivolous  work.  But  we  soon 
found  out  that  we  had  travelled  in  worse  conveyances  and  with 
poorer  steeds  than  in  a  good  dog  sled,  when  whirled  along  by  a 
train  of  first-class  dogs. 

The  dogs  generally  used  are  of  the  Esquimaux  breed,  although 
in  many  places  they  have  become  so  mixed  up  with  other  varieties 
as  to  be  almost  unrecognisable.  The  pure  Esquimaux  sled  dogs 
are  well-built,  compact  animals,  weighing  from  eighty  to  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty  pounds.  They  are  of  various  colours,  and  have 
a  close,  warm,  furry  coat  of  hair.  They  have  sharp-pointed  ears 
and  very  bushy,  curly  tails.  They  are  the  most  notorious  thieves. 
I  never  could  completely  break  an  Esquimaux  dog  of  this  pro- 
pensity. It  seemed  ingrained  in  their  very  natures.  I  have 
purchased  young  puppies  of  this  breed  from  the  natives,  have 
fed  them  well,  and  have  faithfully  endeavoured  to  bring  them 
up  in  the  way  in  which  they  ought  to  go,  but  I  never*  could  get 
them  to  stay  there.  Steal  they  would,  and  did,  whenever  they 
had  an  opportunity. 

This  serious  defect  may  have  been  the  result  of  the  constant 
and  unremitting  neglect  with  which  Indians  generally  treat  their 
dogs.  They  are  fond  of  them  in  a  way,  and  are  unwilling  to 
part  with  them",  except  at  a  good  price  •  yet,  except  when  working 
them,  they  very  seldom  feed  them.  The  dogs  are  generally  left 
to  steal  their  living,  and  some  of  them  become  very  clever  at  it, 
as  more  than  once  I  found  to  my  sorrow.  When  the  fisheries  are 
successful,  or  many  deer  have  been  killed,  the  dogs,  like  their 


92  By   CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

owners,  are  fat  and  flourishing.  When  food  is  scarce,  the  dogs' 
allowance  is  the  first  cut  off.  We  could  always  tell  at  a  glance 
when  a  band  of  wild,  wandering  pagan  Indians  came  in  to  visit 
our  village  from  their  distant  hunting  grounds,  how  they  had 
prospered.  If  they  and  their  dogs  were  fat  and  good-natured, 
they  had  had  abundance  of  food.  If,  while  the  people  looked 
fairly  well,  the  dogs  were  thin  and  wolfish,  we  knew  they  had 
fared  but  moderately.  If  the  dogs  were  all  gone  and  the  people 
looked  gaunt  and  famine-stricken,  we  knew  they  had  had  hard 
times,  and,  as  a  last  resort,  had  eaten  their  poor  dogs  to  keep 
themselves  alive. 

Some  of  the  Indians  who  make  a  pretence  to  feed  their  dogs  in 
winter  never  think  of  doing  so  in  summer.  The  result  is  that, 
as  they  have  to  steal,  hunt,  or  starve,  they  become  adepts  in  one 
or  the  other.  Everything  that  is  eatable,  and  many  things 
apparently  uneatable,  are  devoured  by  them.  They  fairly  howled 
with  delight  when  they  found  access  to  such  things  as  old  leather 
moccasins,  dog  harness,  whips,  fur  caps,  mitts,  and  similar  things. 
They  greedily  devoured  all  they  could,  and  then  most  cunningly 
buried  the  rest.  Many  of  them  go  off  in  summer-time  on  long 
fishing  excursions.  I  once,  when  away  on  a  canoe  trip,  met  a 
pack  of  them  up  a  great  river  over  a  hundred  miles  from  their 
home.  When  we  first  saw  them  at  a  long  distance,  we  mistook 
them  for  wolves,  and  began  to  prepare  for  battle.  The  quick 
eyes  of  my  Indian  canoe  men  soon  saw  what  they  were,  and 
putting  down  our  guns,  we  spent  a  little  time  in  watching  them. 
To  my  great  surprise  I  found  out  that  they  were  fishing  on  their 
own  account.  This  was  something  new  to  me,  and  so  I  watched 
them  with  much  interest. 

On  the  side  of  the  river  on  which  they  were  was  a  shallow, 
reedy  marsh,  where  the  water  was  from  a  few  inches  to  a  foot  in 
depth.  In  these  shallow  waters,  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year, 
different  varieties  of  fish  are  to  be  found.  The  principal  is  the 
Jack  fish,  or  pike,  some  of  which  are  over  three  feet  long.  As 
they  crowd  along  in  these  shallows,  often  with  their  back  fins  out 
of  the  water,  they  are  observed  by  the  dogs,  who  quietly  wade 
out,  often  to  a  distance  of  many  yards,  and  seize  them  with  such 


THIEVISH  ESQUIMAUX  DOGS.  93 

a  grip  that,  in  spite  of  their  struggles,  they  are  carried  in 
triumph  to  the  shore,  and  there  speedily  devoured.  Sometimes 
the  dogs  will  remain  away  for  weeks  together  on  these  fishing 
excursions,  and  will  return  in  much  better  condition  than  when 
they  left. 

During  the  winter  of  the  first  Kiel  Rebellion,  when  all  our 
supplies  had  been  cut  off,  my  good  wife  and  I  got  tired  of  dining 
twenty-one  times  a  week  on  fish  diet,  varied  only  by  a  pot  of 
boiled  musk  rats,  or  a  roast  hind-quarter  of  a  wild  cat.  To 
improve  our  bill  of  fare,  the  next  summer,  when  I  went  into 
the  Red  River  Settlement,  I  bought  a  sheep,  which  I  carefully 
took  out  with  me  in  a  little  open  boat.  I  succeeded  in  getting  it 
safely  home,  and  put  it  in  a  yard  that  had  a  heavy  stockade  fence 
twelve  feet  high  around  it.  In  some  way  the  dogs  got  in  and 
devoured  my  sheep. 

The  next  summer,  I  took  out  a  couple  of  pigs,  and  put  them 
into  a  little  log  stable  with  a  two-inch  spruce  plank  door.  To  my 
great  disgust,  one  night  the  dogs  ate  a  hole  through  the  door  and 
devoured  my  pigs. 

There  seemed  to  be  a  good  deal  of  the  wolf  in  their  nature. 
Many  of  them  never  manifested  much  affection  for  their  masters, 
and  never  could  be  fully  depended  upon.  Still  I  always  found 
that  even  with  Esquimaux  dogs  patience  and  kindness  went 
farther  than  anything  else  in  teaching  them  to  know  what  was 
required  of  them,  and  in  inducing  them  to  accept  the  situation. 
Some  of  them  are  naturally  lazy,  and  some  of  them  are  incorri- 
gible shirks ;  and  so  there  is  in  dog-driving  a  capital  opportunity 
for  the  exercise  of  the  cardinal  virtue  of  patience. 

As  my  Mission  increased  in  size,  and  new  appointments  were 
taken  up,  I  found  I  should  have  to  be  on  the  move  nearly  all  the 
winter  if  those  who  longed  for  the  Word  of  Life  were  to  be 
visited.  Do  the  best  I  could,  there  were  some  bands  so  remote 
that  I  could  only  visit  them  twice  a  year.  In  summer  I  went  by 
canoe,  and  in  winter  by  dog-train.  After  a  few  wretched  experi- 
ences with  native  dogs,  where  I  suffered  most  intensely,  as  much 
on  account  of  their  inferior  powers  as  anything  else,  I  began  to 
think  of  the  many  splendid  St.  Bernard  and  Newfoundland  dogs 


94  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

I  had  seen  in  civilised  lands,  doing  nothing  in  return  for  the  care 
and  affection  lavished  upon  them.  These  thoughts,  which  came 
to  me  while  far  from  home,  were  promptly  followed  by  action  as 
soon  as  that  terrible  trip  was  ended,  in  which  every  part  of  my 
face  exposed  to  the  intense  cold  had  been  frozen,  even  to  my 
eyebrows  and  lips. 

Missionary  Secretaries  were  amused  at  the  requisition  for  dogs, 
and  had  their  laugh  at  what  they  called  "  my  unique  request," 
and  wrote  me  to  that  effect.  Thanks,  however,  to  the  kindness 
of  such  men  as  the  Hon.  Mr.  Sanford,  of  Hamilton,  the  Hon. 
Mr.  Ferrier,  of  Montreal,  and  other  friends,  I  had  in  my  posses- 
sion some  splendid  dogs  before  the  next  season  opened,  and  then 
the  work  went  on  with  increasing  interest  and  satisfaction. 
With  splendid,  well-trained  dogs,  I  could  so  shorten  the  time  of 
the  three  hundred  miles'  trip,  that,  instead  of  shivering  seven  or 
eight  nights  in  a  hole  dug  in  the  snow,  we  could  reduce  the  number 
to  four  or  five. 

Those  who  have  experienced  the  sufferings  and  hardships  of 
camping  out  in  the  forest  with  the  temperature  ranging  from 
thirty  to  sixty  degrees  below  zero,  will  agree  that  to  escape  two 
or  three  nights  of  it  meant  a  good  deal. 

I  found  by  years  of  experience  that  the  St.  Bernard  and  New- 
foundland dogs  had  all  the  good  qualities,  and  none  of  the  defects, 
of  the  Esquimaux.  By  kindness  and  firmness  they  were  easily 
broken  in,  and  then  a  whip  was  only  an  ornamental  appendage 
of  the  driver's  picturesque  costume.  Of  these  splendid  dogs  I 
often  had  in  my  possession,  counting  old  and  young,  as  many  as 
twenty  at  a  time.  The  largest  and  best  of  them  all  was  Jack,  a 
noble  St.  Bernard.  He  was  black  as  jet,  and  stood  over  thirty- 
three  inches  high  at  his  fore  shoulder.  When  in  good  working 
trim,  he  weighed  about  a  hundred  and  sixty  pounds.  He  had  no 
equal  in  all  that  northern  land.  Several  times  he  saved  my  life, 
as  we  shall  see  further  on.  No  whip  ever  ruffled  his  glossy  coat ; 
no  danger  ever  deterred  him  from  his  work,  when  he  with  his 
marvellous  intelligence  once  got  to  know  what  was  expected  of 
him.  No  blizzard  storm,  no  matter  how  fickle  and  changeful, 
could  lead  him  off  from  the  desired  camping  place,  even  if  the 


DISTANCES  TRAVELLED    WITH  DOG-TRAINS.    '       95 

courage  of  other  dogs  failed  them,  and  even  though  the  guides 
gave  up  in  despair. 

The  distance  we  could  travel  with  dogs  depended  of  course  very 
much  on  the  character  of  the  trail  or  route.  On  the  frozen 
surface  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  when  no  blinding  gales  opposed  us, 
and  our  dogs  were  good  and  loads  not  too  heavy,  we  have  made 
from  seventy  to  ninety  miles  a  day.  One  winter  I  accomplished 
the  journey  from  Fort  Garry  to  Norway  House  in  five  days  and 
a  half — a  distance  of  nearly  four  hundred  miles.  When  we 
were  toiling  along  in  the  dense  forests,  where  the  snow  lay  deep 
and  the  obstructions  were  many,  and  the  country  was  broken 
with  hills  and  ravines,  we  often  did  not  make  more  than  a 
third  of  that  distance,  and  then  suffered  much  more  than  when 
we  had  made  much  greater  journeys  under  more  favourable 
auspices. 

The  dog  sleds  are  made  of  two  oak  or  birch  boards,  about 
twelve  feet  long,  eight  or  nine  inches  wide,  and  from  half  an 
inch  to  an  inch  thick.  These  two  boards  are  fastened  securely 
together,  edge  to  edge,  by  crossbars.  Then  one  of  the  ends  is 
planed  down  thin,  and  so  thoroughly  steamed  or  soaked  in  hot 
water  that  it  can  easily  be  bent  or  curved  up  to  form  ^hat  is 
called  the  head  of  the  sled.  It  is  then  planed  smooth,  a$4,  fitted 
out  with  side  loops.  The  front  ones  are  those  to  which  the4traces 
of  the  dogs  are  attached,  and  the  others  along  the  sides  are  used 
to  fasten  the  load  securely.  When  finished,  allowing  two  or 
three  feet  for  the  curled-up  head,  a  good  dog  sled  is  nine  or  ten 
feet  long,  and  from  sixteen  to  eighteen  inches  wide. 

Sometimes  they  are  fitted  with  parchment  sides  and  a  comfort- 
able back.  Then  they  are  called  carioles.  When  the  dogs  were 
strong  enough,  or  the  trail  was  a  well  beaten  one,  or  we  were 
travelling  on  the  great  frozen  lakes,  I  was  able  to  ride  the 
greater  part  of  the  time.  Then  it  was  not  unpleasant  or  toil- 
some work.  But  as  many  of  my  winter  trails  led  me  through 
the  primeval  forests,  where  the  snow  was  often  very  deep,  and 
the  hills  were  steep,  and  the  fallen  trees  many,  and  the  standing 
ones  thickly  clustered  together,  on  such  journeys  there  was  but 
little  riding.  One  had  to  strap  on  his  snow  shoes,  and  help  his 


98  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

faithful  Indians  to  tramp  down  the  deep  snow  in  the  trail,  that 
the  poor  dogs  might  drag  the  heavily  loaded  sleds  along. 

Four  dogs  constitute  a  train.  They  are  harnessed  in  tandem  style, 
as  all  this  vast  country  north  of  the  fertile  prairies  is  a  region 
of  forests.  The  Esquimaux  style  of  giving  each  dog  a  separate 
trace,  thus  letting  them  spread  out  in  a  fan-like  form,  would 
never  do  in  this  land  of  trees  and  dense  under-brush. 

The  harness,  which  is  made  of  moose  skin,  is  often  decorated 
with  ribbons  and  little  musical  bells.  Singular  as  it  may  appear, 
the  dogs  were  very  fond  of  the  bells,  and  always  seemed  to  travel 
better  and  be  in  greater  spirits  when  they  could  dash  along  in 
unison  with  their  tinkling.  Some  dogs  could  not  be  more 
severely  punished  than  by  taking  the  bells  off  their  harness. 

The  head  dog  of  the  train  is  called  "  the  leader."  Upon  him 
depends  a  great  deal  of  the  comfort  and  success,  and  at  times 
the  safety,  of  the  whole  party.  A  really  good  leader  is  a  very 
valuable  animal.  Some  of  them  are  so  intelligent  that  they  do 
not  require  a  guide  to  run  ahead  of  them,  except  in  the  most 
dense  and  unbeaten  forest  trails.  I  had  a  long-legged  white  dog, 
of  mixed  breed,  that  ever  seemed  to  consider  a  guide  a  nuisance, 
when  once  he  had  got  into  his  big  head  an  idea  of  what  I  wanted 
him  to  do.  Outside  of  his  harness  Old  Voyager,  as  we  called  him, 
was  a  morose,  sullen,  unsociable  brute.  So  hard  to  approach 
was  he  that  generally  a  rope  about  sixty  feet  long,  with  one 
end  fastened  around  his  neck,  trailed  out  behind  him.  When 
we  wanted  to  catch  him,  we  generally  had  to  start  off  in  the 
opposite  direction  from  him,  for  he  was  as  cunning  as  a  fox,  and 
ever  objected  to  being  caught.  In  zigzag  ways  we  moved  about 
until  he  was  thrown  off  his  guard,  and  then  by-and-by  it  was 
possible  to  come  near  enough  to  get  hold  of  the  long  rope  and 
haul  him  in.  When  once  the  collar  was  on  his  neck,  and  he 
had  taken  his  place  at  the  head  of  the  party,  he  was  the  un- 
rivalled leader.  No  matter  how  many  trains  might  happen  to 
be  travelling  together,  no  one  thought  of  taking  first  place  while 
Old  Voyager  was  at  hand. 

Lake  Winnipeg  is  very  much  indented  with  deep,  wide  bays. 
The  headlands  are  from  five  to  thirty  miles  apart.  When  dog- 


SAGACIOUS  DOGS.  97 

travelling  on  that  great  lake  in  winter,  the  general  plan  is  to 
travel  from  headland  to  headland.  When  leaving  one  where 
perhaps  we  had  slept  or  dined,  all  we  had  to  do  was  to  turn  Old 
Voyager's  head  in  the  right  direction,  and  show  him  the  distant 
point  to  which  we  wished  to  go ;  and  although  it  might  be  many 
miles  away,  a  surveyor's  line  could  not  be  much  straighter  than 
the  trail  our  sleds  would  make  under  his  unerring  guidance. 

I  have  gone  into  these  details  about  this  mode  of  travelling, 
because  there  is  so  little  known  about  it  in  the  outside  world. 
Doubtless  it  will  soon  become  a  thing  of  the  past,  as  the  Indians 
are  settling  down  in  their  Reservations,  and,  each  tribe  or  band 
having  a  resident  Missionary,  these  long,  toilsome  journeys  will 
not  be  essential. 

The  companions  of  my  long  trips  were  the  far-famed  Indian 
runners  of  the  north.  The  principal  one  of  our  party  was 
called  "  the  guide."  To  him  was  committed  the  responsibility  of 
leading  us  by  the  quickest  and  safest  route  to  the  band  of  Indians 
we  wished  to  visit  with  the  good  news  of  a  Saviour's  love.  His 
place  was  in  front  of  the  dogs,  unless  the  way  happened  to  lead 
us  for  a  time  over  frozen  lakes  or  well-beaten  trails,  where  the  dogs 
were  able  to  go  on  alone,  cheered  by  the  voice  of  their  drivers 
behind.  When  the  trail  was  of  this  description,  the  guide 
generally  strode  along  in  company  with  one  of  the  drivers. 

As  the  greater  part  of  my  work  was  in  the  wild  forest  regions, 
there  were  many  trips  when  the  guide  was  always  at  the  front. 
Marvellously  gifted  were  some  of  these  men.  The  reader  must 
Lear  in  mind  the  fact  that  there  were  no  roads  or  vestiges  of  a 
path.  Often  the  whole  distance  we  wished  to  go  was  through 
the  dense  unbroken  fcrest.  The  snow,  some  winters,  was  from 
two  to  four  feet  deep.  Often  the  trees  were  clustered  so  closely 
together  that  it  was  at  times  difficult  to  find  them  standing  far 
enough  apart  to  get  our  sleds,  narrow  as  they  were,  between 
them.  In  many  places  the  under-brush  was  so  dense  that  it 
was  laborious  work  to  force  our  way  through  it.  Yet  the  guide 
on  his  large  snowshoes  was  expected  to  push  on  through  all 
obstructions,  and  open  the  way  where  it  was  possible  for  the  dog- 
sleds  to  follow.  His  chief  work  was  to  mark  out  the  trail,  along 

7 


98  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

which  the  rest  of  us  travelled  as  rapidly  as  our  loaded  sleds,  or 
wearied  limbs,  and  often  bleeding  feet,  would  allow. 

Wonderfully  clever  and  active  were  these  guides  in  this  difficult 
and  trying  work.  To  them  it  made  but  little  diiference  whether 
the  sun  shone  brightly,  or  clouds  obscured  the  sky.  On  and  on 
they  pushed  without  hesitancy  or  delay.  There  were  times  when 
the  sun's  rays  were  reflected  with  such  splendour  from  the  snowy 
wastes,  that  our  eyes  became  so  affected  by  the  glare,  that  it  was 
impossible  to  travel  by  sunlight.  The  black  eyes  of  the  Indians 
seemed  very  susceptible  to  this  disease,  which  they  call  "snow 
blindness."  It  is  very  painful,  as  I  know  by  sad  experience. 
The  sensation  is  like  that  of  having  red-hot  sand  thrown  on  the 
eyeballs.  Often  my  faithful  dog-drivers  used  to  suffer  so  from  it 
that,  stoical  as  they  naturally  are,  I  have  known  them  to  groan 
and  almost  cry  out  like  children  in  the  camp. 

Once,  in  travelling  near  Oxford  Lake,  we  came  across  a  couple 
of  Indians  who  were  stone-blind  from  this  disease.  Fortunately 
they  had  been  able  to  reach  the  woods  and  make  a  camp  and  get 
some  food  ready  ere  total  blindness  came  upon  them.  We  went 
out  of  our  course  to  guide  them  to  their  friends. 

To  guard  against  the  attack  of  this  disease,  which  seldom 
occurs  except  in  the  months  of  March  and  April,  when  the 
increasing  brightness  of  the  sun,  in  those  lengthening  days,  makes 
its  rays  so  powerful,  we  often  travelled  only  during  the  night- 
time, and  rested  in  the  sheltered  camps  during  the  hours  of  sun- 
shine. On  some  of  our  long  trips  we  have  travelled  eight  nights 
continuously  in  this  way.  We  generally  left  our  camp  -about  sun- 
down. At  midnight  we  groped  about  as  well  as  we  could,  aided 
by  the  light  of  the  stars  or  the  brilliant  auroras,  and  found  some 
dry  wood  and  birch  bark,  with  which  we  made  a  fire  and  cooked 
a  midnight  dinner.  Then  on  we  went  until  the  morning  light 
came.  Then  a  regular  camp  was  prepared,  and  breakfast  cooked 
and  eaten,  and  the  dogs  were  fed,  instead  of  at  night.  Prayers 
said,  and  ourselves  wrapped  up  in  our  blankets  and  robes,  we 
slept  until  the  hours  of  brilliant  sunshine  were  over,  when  on  we 
went. 

It  always  seemed  to  me  that  the  work  of  the  guide  would  be 


FAITHFUL   DOG-DRIVERS.  99 

much  more  difficult  at  night  than  during  the  daytime.  They, 
however,  did  not  think  so.  With  unerring  accuracy  they  pushed 
on.  It  made  no  matter  to  them  whether  the  stars  shone  out  in 
all  the  heauty  and  brilliancy  of  the  Arctic  sky,  or  whether  clouds 
arose  and  obscured  them  all.  On  the  guide  pushed  through 
tangled  underwood  or  dense  gloomy  forest,  where  there  were  not 
to  be  seen,  for  days,  or  rather  nights,  together,  any  other  tracks 
than  those  made  by  the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest. 

Sometimes  the  wondrous  auroras  blazed  out,  flashing  and  scin- 
tillating with  a  splendour  indescribable.  At  times  the  whole 
heavens  seemed  aglow  with  their  fickle,  inconstant  beauty,  and 
then  various  portions  of  the  sky  were  illumined  in  succession  by 
their  ever-changing  bars,  or  columns  of  coloured  light.  Man's 
mightiest  pyrotechnic  displays  dwarfed  into  insignificance  in  the 
presence  of  these  celestial  visions.  For  hours  at  a  time  have  I 
been  entranced  amidst  their  glories.  So  bewildering  were  they 
at  times  to  me  that  I  have  lost  all  ideas  of  location,  and  knew 
not  which  was  north  or  south. 

But  to  the  experienced  guide,  although,  like  many  of  the 
Indians,  he  had  a  keen  appreciation  of  the  beauties  of  nature,  so 
intent  was  he  on  his  duties  that  these  changing  auroras  made  no 
difference,  and  caused  him  no  bewilderment  in  his  work.  This, 
to  me,  was  often  a  matter  of  surprise.  They  are  very  susceptible 
in  their  natures,  and  their  souls  are  full  of  poetry,  as  many  of 
their  expressive  and  beautiful  names  indicate.  To  them,  in  their 
pagan  state,  those  scintillating  bars  of  coloured  light  were  the 
spirits  of  their  forefathers,  rank  after  rank,  rushing  out  to  battle. 
Yet,  while  on  our  long  trips  I  have  had  Indians  as  guides  who 
became  intensely  interested  in  these  wondrous  visions  of  the 
night,  I  never  knew  them  to  lose  the  trail  or  become  confused 
as  to  the  proper  route. 

Very  pleasant  are  my  memories  of  different  guides  and  dog- 
drivers.  With  very  few  exceptions  they  served  me  loyally  and 
well.  Most  of  them  were  devoted  Christian  men.  With  me  they 
rejoiced  to  go  on  these  long  journeys  to  their  countrymen  who 
were  still  groping  in  the  darkness,  but  most  of  them  longing  for 
the  light.  Many  of  them  were  capable  of  giving  exhortations  or 


100  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

addresses;  and  if  not  able  to  do  this,  they  could,  Paul -like,  tell 
the  story  of  their  conversion,  and  how  they  had  found  the 
Saviour. 

My  heart  warms  to  those  faithful  men,  my  companions  in 
many  a  storm,  my  bed-fellows  in  many  a  cold  wintry  camp. 
Memory  brings  up  many  incidents  where  they  risked  their  lives 
for  ine,  and  where,  when  food  was  about  exhausted,  and  the  pos- 
sibilities of  obtaining  additional  supplies  for  days  were  very  poor, 
they  quietly  and  unostentatiously  put  themselves  on  quarter 
rations,  for  days  together,  that  their  beloved  missionary  might 
not  starve. 

Some  of  them  have  finished  their  course.  Up  the  shining  trail, 
following  the  unerring  Guide,  they  have  gone  beyond  the  auroras 
and  beyond  the  stars  right  to  the  throne  of  God. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

ON  THE  TRAIL  WITH  THE  DOGS,  TO  FIELDS  RIPE  FOR  THE  REAPER — 
THE  PLACE— THE  TRIP — THE  WINTER  CAMP— THE  BITTER  COLD 
— ENDURING  HARDNESS — DEATH  SHAKING  HANDS  WITH  US— MANY 
DAYS  ON  THE  TRAIL. 

FN"  January,  1869,  I  started  on  my  first  winter  trip  to  Nelson 
JL  River,  to  visit  a  band  of  Indians  there,  who  had  never  yet 
seen  a  missionary  or  heard  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation.  Their 
principal  gatherings  were  at  the  little  trading  post  on  the  Burnt- 
wood  River.  Their  hunting  grounds  extended  so  very  far  north 
that  they  bordered  on  those  of  the  Esquimaux,  with  whom,  how- 
ever, the  Indians  have  no  dealings.  Between  these  two  races,  the 
Indian  and  the  Esquimaux,  there  is  no  affinity  whatever.  They 
differ  very  materially  in  appearance,  language,  customs,  and 
beliefs.  Though  they  will  seldom  engage  in  open  hostilities,  yet 
they  are  very  rarely  at  peace  with  each  other,  and  generally 
strive  to  keep  as  far  apart  as  possible. 

The  weather  was  bitterly  cold,  as  the  temperature  ranged  from 
thirty-five  to  fifty-five  below  zero.  Our  course  was  due  north  all 
the  way.  The  road  we  made,  for  there  was  none  ahead  of  the 
snow-shoe  tracks  of  our  guide,  was  a  rugged,  unbroken  forest 
path.  As  the  country  through  which  we  passed  is  rich  in  fur- 
bearing  animals,  we  saw  many  evidences  of  their  presence,  and 
occasionally  crossed  a  hunter's  trail.  We  passed  over  twenty 
little  lakes,  averaging  from  one  to  thirty  miles  in  diameter. 
Over  these  our  dogs  drew  us  very  fast,  and  we  could  indulge  in 
the  luxury  of  a  ride;  but  in  the  portages  and  wood-roads  our 
progress  was  very  slow,  and  generally  all  of  us,  with  our  snow- 


102  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

shoes  on,  and  at  times  with  axes  in  hand,  had  to  tramp  on  ahead 
and  pack  the  deep  snow  down,  and  occasionally  cut  out  an 
obstructing  log,  that  our  dogs  might  be  able  to  drag  our  heavily 
laden  sleds  along.  Sometimes  the  trees  were  so  thickly  clustered 
together  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  get  our  sleds  through 
them.  At  times  we  were  testing  our  agility  by  climbing  over 
fallen  trees,  and  then  on  our  hands  and  knees  had  to  crawl 
under  reclining  ones.  Our  faces  were  often  bleeding,  and  our  feet 
oruised.  There  were  times  when  the  strap  of  my  snowshoes  so 
frayed  and  lacerated  my  feet  that  the  blood  soaked  through  the 
moccasins  and  webbing  of  the  snowshoes,  and  occasionally  the 
trail  was  marked  with  blood.  We  always  travelled  in  Indian 
file.  At  the  head  ran  or  walked  the  guide,  as  the  roads  would 
permit.  On  these  trips,  when  I  got  to  understand  dog-driving, 
I  generally  followed  next ;  and  behind  me  were  three  other  dog- 
trains,  each  with  an  Indian  driver. 

Sometimes  the  snow  was  so  deep  that  the  four  dog-drivers  went 
ahead  of  the  dogs,  immediately  behind  the  guide,  and,  keeping 
in  line  with  him,  industriously  packed  down  the  snow,  that  the 
dogs  might  the  more  easily  drag  the  heavy  sleds  along.  The 
reason  why  our  loads  were  so  heavy  was  this.  We  were  not  in 
a  country  where,  when  night  overtook  us,  we  could  find  some 
hospitable  home  to  welcome  us.  Neither  were  we  where  there 
were  hotels  or  houses  in  which  for  money  we  could  secure  lodg- 
ings. We  were  in  one  of  the  most  desolate  and  thinly  inhabited 
parts  of  the  world,  where  those  who  travel  long  distances  see  no 
human  beings,  except  the  Indian  hunters,  and  these  *but  rarely. 
Hence,  in  spite  of  all  our  efforts  to  make  our  loads  as  light  as 
possible,  they  would  be  heavy,  although  we  were  only  carrying 
what  was  considered  absolutely  essential.  We  had  to  take  our 
provisions,  fish  for  our  dogs,  kettles,  tin  dishes,  axes,  bedding, 
guns,  extra  clothing,  and  various  other  things,  to  meet  emer- 
gencies that  might  arise. 

The  heaviest  item  on  our  sleds  was  the  fish  for  the  dogs.  Each 
dog  was  fed  once  a  day,  and  then  received  two  good  white  fishes, 
each  weighing  from  four  to  six  pounds.  So  that  if  the  daily 
allowance  for  each  dog  averaged  five  pounds,  the  fish  alone  on 


THE  CAMP  IN  THE  SNOW.  103 

each  sled  would  weigh  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds,  when  we 
began  a  trip  of  a  week's  duration.  Then  the  bitter  cold  and  the 
vigorous  exercise  gave  both  the  drivers  and  the  missionary  good 
appetites,  and  so  the  food  provided  for  them  was  of  no  insig- 
nificant weight. 

We  generally  stopped  about  half  an  hour  before  sundown  in 
order  to  have  time,  ere  darkness  enshrouded  us,  to  prepare  our 
camp.  As  we  journeyed  on  we  had  observed  that  the  guide  who 
had  been  running  along  in  front  had  been,  for  the  last  half  hour 
or  so,  carefully  scanning  the  forest  to  the  right  and  left.  At 
length  he  stopped,  and  as  we  came  up  to  him  we  said,  "  Well, 
Tom,  what  is  the  matter?" 

His  answer  is,  "  Here  is  a  capital  place  for  our  camp." 

"  Why  do  you  think  so  ? "  we  ask. 

He  replies,  "  Do  you  see  those  balsams  ?  They  will  furnish  us 
with  a  bed,  and  this  cluster  of  dry,  dead  small  trees  will  give 
us  the  wood  we  need  for  our  fire."  So  we  quickly  set  to  work 
to  prepare  for  our  all-night  stay  in  the  woods. 

The  dogs  were  soon  unharnessed,  and  seemed  thankful  to  get 
their  heads  out  of  their  collars.  They  were  never  tied  up,  neither 
did  they  ever  desert  us,  or  take  the  back  track  for  home.  Some 
of  the  younger  ones  often  organised  a  rabbit  hunt  on  their  own 
responsibility,  and  had  some  sport.  The  older  and  wiser  ones 
looked  around  for  the  most  cosy  and  sheltered  spots,  and  there 
began  to  prepare  their  resting-places  for  the  night.  They  would 
carefully  scrape  away  the  snow  until  they  came  to  the  ground, 
and  there,  with  teeth  and  paws,  would  make  the  spot  as  smooth 
and  even  as  possible.  They  would  then  curl  themselves  up,  and 
patiently  wait  until  they  were  called  to  supper.  After  unhar- 
nessing our  dogs,  our  next  work  was  with  our  axes,  and  there 
was  a  good  sharp  one  for  the  Missionary,  to  cut  down  some  of 
the  green  balsams  and  dry  dead  trees.  Then  using  our  snow- 
shoes  as  shovels,  from  the  place  selected  for  our  camp  we  soon 
scraped  away  the  snow,  piling  it  up  as  well  as  we  could  to  the 
right,  left,  and  in  rear  of  where  we  were  to  sleep.  On  the  ground 
thus  cleared  of  snow  we  spread  out  a  layer  of  the  balsam  boughs, 
and  in  front,  where  the  wind  would  blow  the  smoke  from  us,  we 


104  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

made  up  a  large  fire  with  the  small  dry  trees  which  we  had  cut 
down. 

On  this  blazing  log  fire  we  put  our  two  kettles,  which  we  had 
filled  with  snow.  When  it  melted  down,  we  refilled  the  kettles, 
until  enough  water  was  secured.  In  the  large  kettle  we  boiled 
a  piece  of  fat  meat,  of  goodly  size,  and  in  the  other  we  made  our 
tea. 

On  my  first  trip  I  carried  with  me  a  tin  basin,  a  towel,  and  a 
cake  of  soap.  At  our  first  camp-fire,  when  the  snow  had  been 
melted  in  our  kettle,  I  asked  the  guide  to  give  me  a  little  of  the 
water  in  my  basin.  Suspecting  the  purpose  for  which  I  wanted 
it,  he  said,  "  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  it  ?  " 

"  Wash  my  face  and  hands,"  I  replied. 

Very  earnestly  he  answered,  "  Please,  Missionary,  do  not  do 
so." 

I  was  longing  for  a  good  wash,  for  I  felt  like  a  chimney-sweep. 
We  had  been  travelling  for  hours  through  a  region  of  country 
where,  in  the  previous  summer,  great  forest  fires  had  raged, 
leaving  many  of  the  trunks  of  the  trees  charred  and  black. 
Against  some  of  them  we  had  often  rubbed,  and  to  some  of  them, 
or  their  branches,  we  had  had  to  cling  as  we  went  dashing  down 
some  of  the  ravines.  The  result  of  these  weary  hours  of  toil 
amidst  charred  trunks  was  very  visible,  and  I  rejoiced  that  an 
opportunity  had  arrived  when  I  could  wash  off  the  sooty  stuff. 
Great  indeed  was  my  surprise  to  hear  this  strong  protest  on  the 
part  of  my  guide  against  my  doing  anything  of  the  kind. 

"Why  should  I  not  wash?"  I  said,  holding  up  my 'blackened 
hands. 

"  You  must  not  let  water  touch  you  out  in  the  open  air,  when 
it  is  so  very  cold  as  it  is  to-day,"  was  his  answer. 

I  was  very  inexperienced  then,  and  not  willing  to  lose  my 
wash,  which  I  so  much  needed;  I  did  not  heed  the  warning. 
Having  a  blazing  fire  before  me  and  a  good  dry  towel,  I  ventured 
to  take  the  wash,  and  for  a  minute  or  two  after  felt  much  better. 
Soon,  however,  there  were  strange  prickling  sensations  on  the  tops 
of  my  hands,  and  then  they  began  to  chap  and  bleed,  and  they 
Became  very  sore,  and  did  not  get  well  for  weeks.  The  one 


TOO   COLD  TO    WASH.  105 

experiment  of  washing  in  the  open  air  with  the  temperature  in 
the  fifties  below  zero  was  quite  enough.  In  the  following  years 
I  left  the  soap  at  home  and  only  carried  the  towel.  When  very 
much  in  need  of  a  wash,  I  had  to  be  content  with  a  dry  rub  with 
the  towel.  Mrs.  Young  used  to  say,  when  I  returned  from  some 
of  these  trips,  that  I  looked  like  old  mahogany.  The  bath  was 
then  considered  a  much-needed  luxury. 

For  our  food,  when  travelling  in  such  cold  weather,  we  pre- 
ferred the  fattest  meat  we.  could  obtain.  From  personal  experience 
I  can  endorse  the  statements  of  Arctic  explorers  about  the  value 
of  fat  or  oil  and  blubber  as  articles  of  food,  and  the  natural 
craving  of  the  system  for  them.  Nothing  else  seemed  to  supply 
the  same  amount  of  internal  heat.  As  the  result  of  experience, 
we  carried  the  fattest  kind  of  meat. 

As  soon  as  the  snow  was  melted  down  in  the  larger  pf  our 
kettles,  meat  sufficient  for  our  party  was  soon  put  on  and  boiled. 
While  it  was  cooking,  we  thawed  out  the  frozen  fish  for  our  dogs. 
Such  is  the  effect  of  the  frost  that  they  were  as  hard  as  stone,  and 
it  would  have  been  cruel  to  have  given  them  in  that  state  to  the 
noble  animals  that  served  us  so  well.  Our  plan  was  to  put  down 
a  small  log  in  front  of  the  fire,  so  close  to  it  that  when  the  fish 
were  placed  against  it,  the  intensity  of  the  heat  would  soon  thaw 
them  out.  The  hungry  dogs  were  ever  sharp  enough  to  know 
when  their  supper  was  being  prepared ;  and  as  it  was  the  only 
meal  of  the  day  for  them,  they  crowded  around  us  and  were 
impatient  at  times,  and  had  to  be  restrained. 

Sometimes,  in  their  eagerness  and  anxiety  for  their  food — for 
it  often  required  a  long  time  for  the  fire  to  thaw  the  fishes  suffi- 
ciently for  us  to  bend  them — the  dogs  in  crowding  one  before  the 
other  would  get  into  a  fight,  and  then  there  would  be  trouble. 
Two  dogs  of  the  same  train  very  seldom  fought  with  each  other. 
Yoke-fellows  in  toil,  they  were  too  wise  to  try  to  injure  each  other 
in  needless  conflict.  So,  when  a  battle  began,  the  dogs  quickly 
ranged  themselves  on  the  sides  of  their  own  comrades,  and  soon 
it  was  a  conflict  of  train  against  train.  At  first  I  thought  it 
cruel  not  to  feed  them  more  frequently,  but  I  found,  as  all 
experienced  dog-drivers  had  told  me,  that  one  good  meal  a  day 


106  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

was  the  best  for  them.  So  great  were  my  sympathies  for  them 
that  sometimes  I  would  give  them  a  good  breakfast  in  the  morn- 
ing ;  but  it  did  not  turn  out  to  be  of  any  real  benefit.  The 
additional  meal  made  them  sluggish  and  short-winded,  and  they 
did  not  seem  to  thrive  so  well.  Good  white  fish  was  the  best 
food  we  could  give  them,  and  on  this  diet  they  could  thrive  and 
work  as  on  no  other. 

A  goodly  number  of  day-shoes  were  very  necessary  on  these 
wild,  rough  trips.  Dogs'  feet  are  tender,  and  are  liable  to  injury 
from  various  causes.  On  the  smooth  glare  ice  the  pads  of  the 
feet  would  sometimes  wear  so  thin  that  they  bled  a  good  deal. 
Then  on  the  rough  roads  there  was  always  the  danger  of  their 
breaking  off  a  claw  or  running  a  sliver  through  the  webbing 
between  the  toes.  Many  of  the  wise  old  dogs  that  had  become 
accustomed  to  these  shoes,  and  thus  knew  their  value,  would 
suddenly  stop  the  whole  train,  and  by  holding  up  an  injured  foot 
very  eloquently,  if  mutely,  tell  the  reason  why  they  had 
done  so. 

The  dog-shoes  are  like  heavy  woollen  mits  without  the  thumbs, 
made  in  different  sizes.  When  a  foot  is  injured,  the  mit  is 
drawn  on  and  securely  tied  with  a  piece  of  soft  deer-skin.  Then 
the  grateful  dog,  which  perhaps  had  refused  to  move  before, 
springs  to  his  work,  often  giving  out  his  joyous  barks  of  gratitude. 
So  fond  do  some  of  the  dogs  become  of  these  warm  woollen 
shoes  that  instances  are  known  where  they  have  come  into  the 
camp  from  their  cold  resting-places  in  the  snow,  and  would  not 
be  content  until  the  men  got  up  and  put  shoes  on  alt  of  their 
feet.  Then,  with  every  demonstration  of  gratitude,  they  have 
gone  back  to  their  holes  in  the  snow. 

Our  dogs  having  been  fed,  we  next  make  our  simple  arrange- 
ments for  our  own  supper. 

A  number  of  balsam  boughs  are  spread  over  the  spot  near  the 
fires,  from  which  the  snow  has  been  scraped  away  by  our  snow- 
shoes.  On  these  is  laid  our  table-doth,  which  was  generally  an 
empty  flour-bag,  cut  down  the  side.  Our  dishes,  all  of  tin,  are 
placed  in  order,  and  around  we  gather  with  vigorous  appetites. 
It  is  fortunate  that  they  are  so  good,  as  otherwise  our  homely 


DOG-SHOES.  107 

fare  would  not  be  much  prized.  The  large  piece  of  fat  meat  is 
served  up  in  a  tin  pan,  and  our  pint  cups  are  filled  up  with  hot 
tea.  If  we  are  fortunate  enough  to  have  some  bread,  which  was 
far  from  being  always  the  case,  we  thaw  it  out  and  eat  it  with 
our  meat.  Vegetables  were  unknown  on  these  trips.  Our  great 
staple  was  fat  meat,  and  the  fatter  the  better ;  morning,  noon,  and 
night,  and  often  between  times  did  we  stop  and  eat  fat  meat.  If 
we  did  vary  the  menu,  it  would  be  by  making  a  raid  on  the 
dogs'  supply,  and  in  the  evening  camp  cooking  ourselves  a  good 
kettle  of  fish. 

As  we  dared  not  wash  our  hands  or  faces,  of  course  such  a 
thing  as  washing  dishes  was  unknown.  When  supper  was  in 
progress,  Jack  Frost  made  us  busy  in  keeping  ourselves  and  pro- 
visions warm.  I  have  seen  the  large  piece  of  meat  put  back  into 
the  pot  three  times  during  the  one  meal,  to  warm  it  up.  3.  have 
seen  the  ice  gather  on  the  top  of  the  cup  of  tea  that  a  few  minutes 
before  was  boiling  vigorously  in  the  kettle. 

After  supper  wood  was  cut,  to  be  in  readiness  for  the  morning's 
fire ;  and  every  break  in  clothes  or  harness  was  repaired,  that 
there  might  be  no  delay  in  making  a  good  start.  Then  the  guide, 
who  always  had  charge  of  all  these  things,  when  satisfied  that  all 
was  arranged,  would  say,  "  Missionary,  we  are  ready  for  prayers." 
The  Bible  and  Hymn-book  were  brought  out,  and  the  Indians 
gathered  round  me,  and  there  together  we  offered  up  our  evening 
devotions.  Would  that  our  readers  could  have  seen  us!  The 
background  is  of  dense  balsam  trees,  whose  great  drooping 
branches,  partially  covered  with  snow,  sweep  the  ground.  Above 
us  are  the  bright  stars,  and,  it  may  be,  the  flashing  auroras.  In 
front  of  us  is  the  blazing  fire,  and  scattered  around  us,  in  picturesque 
confusion,  are  our  dog-sleds,  snow-shoes,  harness,  and  the  other 
essentials  of  our  outfit.  A  few  of  the  dogs  generally  insisted  on 
remaining  up  until  their  masters  had  retired,  and  they  were  now 
to  be  seen  in  various  postures  around  us.  With  uncovered  heads, 
no  matter  how  intense  the  cold,  my  Christian  Indians  listened 
reverently,  while  in  their  own  language  I  read  from  the  precious 
volume  which  they  have  learned  to  love  so  well.  Then  together 
we  sang  a  hymn.  Frequently  it  would  be  the  Evening  Hymn, 


108  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

the  first  verse  of  which  in  their  beautiful  Cree  language  is  as 
follows  :— 

««  Ne  mahmecheraou  ne  muntorae 

Kahke  wastanahmahweyan, 

Kah  nah  way  yemin  Kechahyah 

Ah  kwah-nahtahtah-kwahnaoon." 

After  singing  we  bow  in  prayer.  There  is  there,  as  there 
should  be  everywhere,  a  consciousness  of  our  dependence  upon 
the  great  Helper  for  protection  and  support,  and  so  the  prayer 
we  sang,— - 

"  Keep  me,  O  keep  me,  King  of  Kings, 
Beneath  Thine  own  Almighty  wings," 

is  indeed  our  heart's  desire. 

Sometimes  we  are  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  nearest 
human  habitation.  We  are  camping  out  in  the  woods  in  a  hole 
dug  in  the  snow.  We  have  no  walls  around  us  but  the  snow 
thrown  out  of  the  place  in  which  we  are  huddled,  with  perhaps  the 
addition  of  some  balsam  boughs.  We  have  no  roof  above  us  but 
the  stars.  There  in  that  place  we  are  going  to  lie  down  and  try 
to  sleep  during  that  bitter  cold  night.  The  light  fire  will  soon 
go  out.  A  foot  of  snow  may  fall  upon  us,  and  its  coming  will  be 
welcomed,  as  its  warmth  will  lessen  our  shivering.  Prowling 
grey  wolves  may  come  near  us,  but  the  terrible  Frost  King  is 
more  to  be  feared  than  they. 

Does  anybody,  who  knows  the  efficacy  of  prayer,  wonder  that, 
as  we  draw  near  to  God,  "  by  prayer  and  supplication,  with  thanks- 
giving," we  crave  the  assurance  of  His  favour  and  smile,  and 
that  He,  Who  never  slumbers  or  sleeps,  will  be  our  Guardian  and 
our  Friend  1 

After  prayers  we  soon  retire  to  rest.  The  guide's  familiar 
words  soon  after  prayers  used  to  be,  "Now,  Missionary,  I  will 
make  your  bed."  This  was  his  work,  and  he  was  an  adept  at  it. 
He  first  spread  out  a  layer  o.f  evergreen  boughs,  and  then  on 
these  he  laid  a  large  buffalo  robe,  and  upon  this  a  heavy  blanket. 
Then,  placing  my  pillow  so  that  my  head  would  be  farthest  away 
from  the  fire,  he  would  say  to  me,  "  Now,  if  you  will  get  into 
bed,  I  will  cover  you  up  and  tuck  you  in." 


DRESSING  FOR  BED.  109 

Such  a  thing  as  disrobing  out  there  in  a  wintry  camp  is 
unknown,  unless,  as  the  result  of  the  violent  exercise  of  running 
all  day,  a  person's  underclothing  has  become  very  damp  by  per- 
spiration, and  it  is  not  safe  to  sleep  in  it  in  that  condition. 

Some  travellers  sleep  in  a  fur  bag,  in  which  they  manage  to 
insert  themselves,  and  then  have  it  tightened  around  their  necks. 
Then  a  large  fur  hood  over  the  usual  head-gear  completes  their 
sleeping  apparel.  I  used  to  wrap  myself  up  in  a  heavy  overcoat 
over  my  usual  apparel,  and  then  putting  on  long  buffalo-skin 
boots,  fur  mits,  cap,  cape,  and  big  mufflers,  considered  myself 
rigged  up  for  retiring.  When  thus  wrapped,  I  used  to  have 
some  difficulty  in  getting  down  into  the  bed,  although  it  was 
only  on  the  ground.  When  in  position,  the  guide  would  throw 
over  me  another  heavy  blanket  and  fur  robe.  Then  very  skilfully, 
and  in  a  way  most  motherly,  he  would  begin  at  my  feet  and 
carefully  tuck  me  in.  Rapidly  and  deftly  did  he  proceed  with 
his  work,  and  almost  before  I  was  aware  of  what  he  was  doing, 
he  had  reached  my  bead,  which  he  began  to  cover  completely  up 
with  the  heavy  robe  which  he  seemed  to  be  crowding  down  under 
my  back  and  shoulders. 

The  first  time  he  packed  me  in  in  this  manner  I  was  only  able 
to  stand  it  for  a  minute  or  two,  as  I  thought  I  should  be 
smothered.  So  I  very  suddenly  threw  up  my  arms  and  sent  the 
whole  upper  covering  off  in  a  hurry. 

"  Do  you  wish  to  smother  me,  man  ?  "  I  said.  "  I  cannot  live 
with  my  head  covered  up  like  that !  " 

Without  any  annoyance  at  my  having  so  quickly  undone  his 
work,  he  replied  very  kindly,  "  I  know  it  must  be  hard  work  for 
you  white  people  to  sleep  with  your  heads  completely  covered  up, 
but  you  will  have  to  do  it  here,  or  you  will  freeze  to  death.  You 
must  be  very  careful,  for  this  seems  to  be  a  very  cold  night 
indeed."  Then  he  called  my  attention  to  the  distant  thunder-like 
sounds  which  we  had  been  hearing  occasionally  during  the  even- 
ing. That,  he  told  me,  was  the  ice,  from  four  to  six  feet  thick, 
on  the  great  lake,  cracking  in  the  bitter  cold.  "  Look  at  the 
sinoke,"  he  added.  "  See  how  it  keeps  very  near  the  ground.  It 
does  that  in  the  bitter  cold  nights." 


110  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

From  the  trees  around  us  we  heard  occasionally  a  sharp  pistol 
like  report,  loud  enough  at  times  to  make  a  nervous  person  fancy 
that  lurking  enemies  were  firing  at  us. 

The  observant  Indians  say  these  loud  reports  are  burstings  in 
the  trees  caused  by  the  freezing  of  the  sap. 

Admiring  his  cleverness  and  kindness,  I  told  him  that  I  had 
been  taught  that  every  person  requires  so  many  cubic  feet  of 
fresh  air ;  and,  cold  or  no  cold,  how  did  he  think  I  could  get  my 
share  with  my  head  covered  up  as  he  desired  ?  "  You  must  do 
with  less  out  here,"  he  said,  as  he  proceeded  to  cover  me  up  again, 
while  I  tried  to  arrange  myself  so  that  I  could  at  least  have  a 
small  portion  of  air.  Kindly  and  patiently  he  humoured  me, 
and  then,  when  he  had  finished  tucking  me  in,  he  said,  "  Now, 
Missionary,  good-night;  but  don't  stir.  If  you  do,  you  may 
disarrange  your  coverings  while  you  sleep,  and  you  may  freeze  to 
death  without  waking  up." 

"  Don't  stir  ! "  What  a  command,  I  thought,  to  give  a  tired 
traveller  whose  bones  ache  from  his  long  snow-shoe  tramping  in 
the  woods,  whose  nerves  and  muscles  are  unstrung,  and  who,  like 
others  when  thus  fatigued,  has  even  found  it  helpful  to  his  rest 
and  comfort  to  turn  occasionally  and  stretch  his  limbs  ! 

In  this  frame  of  mind,  and  under  this  order,  which,  after  all,  I 
felt  must  be  obeyed  for  fear  of  the  dire  results  that  might  follow, 
I  at  length  managed  to  fall  asleep,  for  I  was  very  weary.  After 
a  while  I  woke  up  to  a  state  of  semi-consciousness,  and  found 
myself  tugging  and  pulling  at  what  I  thought  in  my  dreamy 
condition  was  the  end  of  an  axe  handle.  The  vague  impression 
on  my  mind  was,  that  some  careless  Indian  had  left  his  axe  just 
behind  my  head,  and  in  the  night  the  handle  had  fallen  across 
my  face,  and  I  had  now  got  hold  of  the  end  of  it.  Fortunately 
for  me,  I  very  quickly  after  this  woke  fully  up,  and  then  found 
out  that  what  I  had  imagined  to  be  the  end  of  an  axe  handle  was 
my  own  nose ;  and  a  badly  frozen  one  it  was,  and  both  of  my  ears 
were  about  in  the  same  condition. 

With  the  guide's  last  orders  in  my  ears,  I  think  I  must  have 
gone  to  sleep  all  right,  but  I  suppose,  from  the  unusual  smothering 
sensation,  unconsciouslv  I  must  have  pushed  down  the  robes  from 


FROZEN  NOSE  AND  EARS  IN  BED.  Ill 

my  face,  and  uncovered  my  head  and  my  hand,  and  then  gradually 
returned  to  consciousness  with  the  above  results.  However,  afte» 
a  few  nights  of  this  severe  kind  of  discipline,  I  at  length  became 
as  able  to  sleep  with  my  head  covered  up  as  an  Indian. 

When  a  foot  or  eighteen  inches  of  snow  fell  upon  us,  we 
rejoiced,  for  it  added  to  our  comfort,  and  caused  us  to  sleep  the 
better.  Under  this  additional  covering  we  generally  rested  a 
couple  of  hours  longer  than  usual,  often  to  make  up  for  the  loss 
of  sleep  of  the  previous  nights,  when  we  had  found  it  impossible, 
or  had  considered  it  dangerous,  to  go  to  sleep. 

The  hardest  work  and  the  most  disagreeable  is  the  getting  up 
from  such  a  bed  in  such  a  place.  Often,  in  spite  of  the  intense 
cold,  we  are  in  a  kind  of  a  clammy  perspiration,  on  account  of 
the  many  wraps  and  coverings  about  us.  As  we  throw  off  these 
outer  garments,  and  spring  up  in  our  camp,  Jack  Frost  instantly 
assails  us  in  a  way  that  makes  us  shiver,  and  often  some  are 
almost  compelled  to  cry  out  in  bitter  anguish. 

Fortunately  the  wood  is  always  prepared  the  night  before,  and 
so,  as  quickly  as  possible,  a  great  roaring  fire  is  built  up,  and  our 
breakfast  of  strong  tea  and  fat  meat  is  prepared  and  eaten  with 
all  speed. 

There  were  times  when  the  morning  outlook  was  gloomy 
indeed,  and  our  position  was  not  an  enviable  one.  On  one  of  my 
trips,  of  only  a  hundred  and  eighty  miles,  in  order  to  save 
expense,  I  only  took  with  me  one  companion,  and  he  was  a  young 
Indian  lad  of  about  sixteen  years  of  age.  We  each  had  our  own 
train  of  dogs,  and  as  Old  Voyager  was  leader  we  guided  him  by 
voice  alone,  arid  he  did  not  disappoint  us.  One  morning,  when 
we  sprang  up  from  our  wintry  camp-bed,  we  found  that  several 
inches  of  snow  had  fallen  upon  us  during  the  night.  As  soon  as 
possible  we  arranged  our  wood  in  order  and  endeavoured  to  kindle 
our  fire.  We  had  been  late  the  previous  evening  in  reaching  this 
camping  place,  and  so  had  to  grope  around  in  the  rapidly  increasing 
darkness  for  our  wood.  It  was  of  very  inferior  quality,  but  as  we 
had  succeeded  in  cooking  our  suppers  with  part  of  it,  we  had  not 
anticipated  any  trouble  with  the  rest.  The  snow  which  had 
fallen  upon  it  had  not  improved  it,  and  so,  as  we  lighted  match 


112  BY  CANOE   AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

after  match,  we  were  at  first  disgusted,  and  then  alarmed,  at 
finding  that  the  poor  stuff  persistently  refused  to  ignite.  Of 
course  we  had  to  take  our  hands  out  of  our  big  fur  mits  when 
trying  to  light  the  matches.  Before  we  had  succeeded  in  our 
attempts  to  start  the  fire  our  hands  began  to  chill,  and  soon  they 
were  so  powerl(  s$  that  we  were  not  able  to  hold  a  match  in  our 
fingers.  Very  naturally  we  became  alarmed,  but  we  persevered 
as  long  as  possible.  I  remember  that,  taking  one  of  the  matches 
between  my  teeth  and  holding  up  an  axe  before  me,  I  tried  to 
jerk  my  head  quick  enough  to  light  it  in  that  way,  but  the 
experiment  was  not  a  success. 

Suddenly  there  came  the  consciousness  that  we  were  not  fai 
from  perishing  if  we  could  not  make  a  fire.  I  quickly  turned  to 
my  young  comrade,  and  saw  by  the  look  in  his  face  that  he  also 
grasped  the  situation,  and  was  terrified  at  the  outlook. 

"  Alec,"  I  said,  "  this  is  a  serious  thing  for  us." 

"  Yes,  Missionary,"  said  he.  "  I  am  afraid  we  die  here.  If 
we  can  make  no  fire  and  have  no  breakfast,  I  am  afraid  we  will 
freeze  to  death." 

"  Not  so  bad  as  that  yet,  Alec,"  I  said.  "  God  is  our  refuge 
and  help.  He  has  given  us  other  ways  by  which  we  can  get 
warm.  As  quickly  as  possible  get  on  your  snow-shoes,  and  up 
with  your  hood  and  on  with  your  mits,  and  I  will  do  likewise, 
and  now  see  if  you  can  catch  me." 

In  much  less  time  than  I  have  taken  to  describe  it,  we  were 
rigged  up  for  rapid  snow-shoe  running,  and  were  off.  Away  I 
rushed  through  the  woods  as  rapidly  as  I  could  on  my  snow-shoes. 
The  lad  followed  me,  and  thus  we  ran  chasing  and  catching  each 
other  alternately  as  though  we  were  a  couple  of  boisterous  school- 
boys instead  of  a  Missionary  and  his  Indian  companion  striving 
to  save  themselves  from  freezing  to  death. 

After  about  half  an  hour  of  this  most  vigorous  exercise,  we 
felt  the  warmth  coming  back  to  our  bodies,  and  then  the  hot 
blood  began  working  its  way  out  to  our  benumbed  hands,  and 
by-and-by  we  could  bend  our  fingers  again.  When  we  felt  the 
comfortable  glow  of  warmth  over  our  whole  bodies,  we  rushed 
back  again  to  the  camp,  and,  gathering  a  quantity  of  birch  bark 


HERE  THE  BLACK  BEARS  ARE 

VERY  NUMEROUS"  (p.  115). 


114  BY  CANOE  AND  IrOG-TRAIN. 

which  we  found  loosely  hanging  from  the  trees,  and  which  is 
very  inflammable,  we  soon  had  a  good  fire  and  then  our  hot 
breakfast.  At  our  morning  devotions  which  followed  there  was 
a  good  deal  of  thanksgiving,  and  the  grateful  spirit  continued 
in  our  hearts  as  we  packed  up  our  loads,  harnessed  up  our  dogs, 
and  sped  on  our  way.  It  was  a  very  narrow  escape.  The  King 
of  Terrors  looked  us  both  in  the  face  that  cold  morning,  and 
very  nearly  chilled  us  into  death  by  the  icy  fingers  of  the  Frost 
King. 

As  the  hours  of  daylight  in  the  winter  months  in  these  high 
latitudes  are  so  few,  we  generally  roused  ourselves  up  several 
hours  before  daylight.  Often  my  kind-hearted  men  endeavoured 
to  get  up  first,  and  have  a  rousing  fire  made  and  breakfast 
cooked,  before  I  would  awake.  This,  however,  did  not  occur 
very  often,  as  such  a  bed  was  not  conducive  to  sleep  ;  so,  generally, 
after  about  four  or  five  hours  in  such  a  state  of  suffocation,  I 
was  thankful  to  get  up  the  instant  I  heard  any  one  stirring.  I 
would  rather  freeze  to  death  than  be  suffocated. 

There  were  times  not  a  few  when  I  was  the  first  to  get  up, 
and  kindle  the  fire  and  cook  the  breakfast  before  I  called  my 
faithful  wearied  companions,  who,  long  accustomed  to  such  hard- 
ships, could  sleep  on  soundly,  where  for  me  it  was  an  absolute 
impossibility.  Sometimes  my  men,  when  thus  aroused,  would 
look  up  at  the  stars  and  say  "  Assam  weputch,"  i.e.,  "  Very 
early."  All  I  had  to  do  was  to  look  gravely  at  my  watch,  and 
this  satisfied  them  that  it  was  all  right.  The  breakfast  was 
quickly  eaten,  our  prayers  were  said,  our  sleds  loaded,  dogs 
captured  and  harnessed — with  the  Esquimaux  ones  this  was  not 
always  an  easy  task — and  we  were  ready  to  start. 

Before  starting  we  generally  threw  the  evergreen  brush  on 
which  we  had  slept  on  the  fire,  and  by  its  ruddy,  cheerful  light 
began  our  day's  journey.  When  some  mornings  we  made  from 
twenty-five  to  forty  miles  before  sunrise,  the  Indians  began  to 
think  the  stars  were  about  right  after  all,  and  the  Missionary's 
watch  very  fast.  However,  they  were  just  as  willing  to  get  on 
rapidly  as  I  was,  and  so  did  not  find  fault  with  the  way  in  which 
I  endeavoured  to  hurry  our  party  along.  I  paid  them  extra 


FOR  THE  SAKE  OF  CHRIST  AND    OF  SOUzfi.         115 

whenever  the  record  of  a  trip  was  broken,  and  we  could  lessen 
the  number  of  nights  in  those  open-air  camps  in  the  snow. 

We  were  six  days  in  making  our  first  winter  trip  to  Nelson 
River.  In  after  years  we  reduced  it  to  four  days.  The  trail 
is  through  one  of  the  finest  fur-producing  regions  of  the  North- 
West.  Here  the  wandering  Indian  hunters  make  their  living 
by  trapping  such  animals  as  the  black  and  silver  foxes,  as  well 
as  the  more  common  varieties  of  that  animal.  Here  are  to  be 
found  otters,  minks,  martens,  beavers,  ermines,  bears,  wolves, 
and  many  other  kinds  of  the  fur-bearing  animals.  Here  the 
black  bears  are  very  numerous.  On  one  canoe  trip  one  summer 
we  saw  no  less  than  seven  of  them,  one  of  which  we  shot  and 
lived  on  for  several  days. 

Here  come  the  adventurous  fur  traders  to  purchase  these 
valuable  skins,  and  great  fortunes  have  been  made  in  the 
business.  If,  merely  to  make  money  and  get  rich,  men  are 
willing  to  come  and  put  up  with  the  hardships  and  privations 
of  the  country,  what  a  disgrace  to  us  if,  for  their  souls'  sake, 
we  are  afraid  to  follow  in  these  hunters'  trail,  or,  if  need  be, 
show  them  the  way,  that  we  may  go  with  the  glad  story  of  a 
Saviour's  love  1 


CHAPTER  X. 

NELSON  RIVER — A  DEMONSTRATIVE  WELCOME — FIRST  RKLIGIOUS  SER- 
VICE— A  FOUR  HOURS'  SERMON — THE  CHIEF'S  ELOQUENT  REPLY— 
THE  OLD  MAN  WITH  GRANDCEIILDREN  IN  HIS  WIGWAM — "OUR 

FATHER" — "THEN  WE  ARE  BROTHERS" — "YES" — "THEN  WHY  is 

THE  WHITE   BROTHER   SO   LONG   TIME   IN   COMING  WITH  THE  GOSPEL 
TO   HIS   RED   BROTHER?" — GLORIOUS   SUCCESSES. 

IT  was  at  my  second  visit  to  Nelson  River  that  the  work  really 
commenced.  Through  some  unforeseen  difficulty  at  the  first 
visit,  many  of  the  natives  were  away.  Hunting  is  even  at  the 
best  a  precarious  mode  of  obtaining  a  livelihood.  Then,  as  the 
movements  of  the  herds  of  deer,  upon  the  flesh  of  which  many  of 
these  Indians  subsist  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  are  very 
erratic,  it  is  often  difficult  to  arrange  for  a  place  of  meeting, 
where  food  can  be  obtained  in  sufficient  abundance  while  the 
religious  services  are  being  held. 

It  used  to  be  very  discouraging,  after  having  travelled  for 
several  days  together,  either  by  canoe  in  summer,  or  dog-trains  in 
winter,  to  reach  a  certain  place  which  had  been  arranged  for 
meeting,  and  find  very  few  present.  The  deer,  and  other  animals 
on  which  they  had  expected  to  live,  had  gone  in  another  direction, 
and  the  Indians  had  been  obliged  to  follow  them. 

Everything,  however,  favoured  us  on  our  second  visit.  We 
found  over  fifty  families  camped  at  the  place  of  meeting,  and  full 
of  curiosity  to  see  the  Missionary.  They  had  all  sorts  of  strange 
notions  in  their  minds.  When  Mr.  Rundle,  of  the  English 
Wesleyan  Church,  first  went  among  some  of  the  wild  tribes  of  the 
great  Saskatchewan  country,  with  his  open  Bible,  preaching  the 


A  DEMONSTRATIVE  WELCOME.  l?t 

wonderful  Gospel  truths,  great  was  the  excitement  of  the  people 
to  know  where  this  strange  man  had  come  from.  So  a  great 
council  was  summoned,  and  the  conjurers  were  ordered  to  find 
out  all  about  it.  After  a  great  deal  of  drumming  and  dreaming 
and  conjuring,  they  gravely  reported  that  this  strange  man  with 
his  wonderful  Book  had  been  wrapped  up  in  an  envelope,  and 
had  come  down  from  the  Great  Spirit  on  a  rainbow ! 

The  Nelson  River  Indians  welcomed  me  very  cordially,  and 
were  much  more  demonstrative  in  their  greetings  than  were  any 
of  the  other  tribes  I  had  visited,  although  I  had  had  my  share 
of  strange  welcomes.  Here  the  custom  of  handshaking  was  but 
little  known,  but  the  more  ancient  one  of  kissing  prevailed. 
Great  indeed  was  my  amazement  when  I  found  myself  surrounded 
by  two  hundred  and  fifty  or  three  hundred  wild  Indians,  men, 
women,  and  children,  whose  faces  seemed  in  blissful  ignorance  of 
soap  and  water,  but  all  waiting  to  kiss  me.  I  felt  unable  to 
stand  the  ordeal,  and  so  I  managed  to  put  them  off  with  a  shake 
of  the  hand,  and  a  kind  word  or  two. 

At  eight  o'clock  the  next  morning  we  called  the  Indians 
together  for  the  first  public  religious  service  which  most  of  them 
had  ever  attended.  They  were  intensely  interested.  My  Chris- 
tian Indians  from  Norway  House  aided  me  in  the  opening 
services,  and,  being  sweet  singers,  added  very  much  to  the  interest. 
We  sang  several  hymns,  read  a  couple  of  lessons  from  the  Bible, 
and  engaged  in  prayer.  At  about  nine  o'clock  I  read  as  my 
text  those  sublime  words :  "  For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He 
gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 

They  listened  with  the  most  enrapt  attention,  while  for  four 
hours  I  talked  to  them  of  some  of  the  truths  of  this  glorious 
verse.  They  had  never  heard  a  sermon  before;  they  were 
ignorant  of  the  simplest  truths  of  our  blessed  Christianity;  and 
so  I  had  to  make  everything  plain  and  clear  as  I  went  along. 
I  could  not  take  anything  for  granted  with  that  audience.  So 
I  had  to  take  them  back  to  the  Creation  and  Fall.  Then  I 
spoke  of  God's  love  in  providence  and  grace ;  and  of  His  greatest 
act  of  love,  the  gift  of  His  only  begotten  beloved  Son.  the  Lord 


118  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

Jesus  Christ,  Who  died  that  we  might  live.  I  dwelt  on  the 
benefits  which  come  to  us  from  the  personal  acceptance  of  this 
Saviour.  I  tried  hard  to  show  how  we,  who  had  wandered  so 
far  away,  were  invited  back  to  actual  adoption  into  God's  great 
family,  a.s  a  conscious  reality.  I  spoke  of  the  universality  and 
impartiality  of  God's  love ;  of  His  willingness  to  receive  all,  to 
fill  our  hearts  with  joy  and  peace,  to  comfort  us  all  through  life, 
to  sustain  us  in  death,  and  then  to  take  us  to  everlasting  life  in 
a  world  of  light  and  glory. 

The  ever-blessed  Spirit  most  graciously  applied  the  truth,  as 
I  tried,  in  the  simplest  and  plainest  way,  to  bring  it  down  to 
their  comprehension.  The  attention  they  gave  showed  that  my 
words  were  being  understood.  Their  bright  eyes  glistened  and 
at  times  were  suffused  with  tears,  and  as  I  closed  the  long-pent- 
up  silence  gave  place  to  loud  exclamations  of  delight. 

Then  we  translated  into  their  language  and  sang  part  of  the 
good  old  hymn : — 

"  O  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing 

My  great  Redeemer's  praise, 

The  glories  of  my  God  and  King, 

The  triumphs  of  His  grace  1  * 

Again  we  bowed  in  prayer,  and,  at  my  request,  they  repeated 
after  me  all  the  petitions  which  in  short  easy  sentences  we 
offered  up  to  Him  Who  is  the  Hearer  and  Answerer  of  prayer. 
A  spirit  of  awe  and  solemnity  seemed  to  rest  upon  us.  It  was 
the  first  time  the  great  majority  had  ever  attempted  to  pray  in 
the  Name  of  Jesus,  and  I  felt  a  sweet  assurance  that  those  simple 
petitions,  from  the  hearts  and  lips  of  those  poor  Indians,  were 
not  despised  by  Him  Whose  great  heart  of  love  beats  so  true  to 
all.  After  prayer  I  requested  them  all  to  again  seat  themselves 
on  the  ground,  as  I  wished  to  hear  from  them  about  these  great 
truths  which  I  had  come  so  far  to  tell  them  of.  I  wanted  to 
know  what  were  their  wishes  and  determinations  about  becoming 
Christians.  When  I  had  finished,  every  eye  turned  towards  the 
principal  chief,  as  these  Indians,  like  the  other  tribes,  have  their 
unwritten  laws  of  precedence.  He  rose  up  from  his  place  among 
his  people,  and,  coming  near  me  on  my  right  hand,  he  made  one 


THE  CHIEF'S  THRILLING  ADDRESS.  119 

of  the  most  thrilling  addresses  I  ever  heard.  Years  have  passed 
away  since  that  hour,  and  yet  the  memory  of  that  tall,  straight, 
impassioned  Indian  is  as  vivid  as  ever.  His  actions  were  many, 
but  all  were  graceful.  His  voice  was  particularly  fine  and  full 
of  pathos,  for  he  spoke  from  his  heart.  Here  is  the  bare  outline 
of  his  speech,  as,  with  my  interpreter  to  aid  me,  I  shortly  after- 
wards wrote  it  down. 

"  Missionary,  I  have  long  lost  faith  in  our  old  paganism." 
Then  pointing  down  to  the  outer  edge  of  the  audience,  where 
some  old  conjurers  and  medicine  men  were  seated,  he  said,  "  They 
know  I  have  not  cared  for  our  old  religion.  I  have  neglected  it. 
And  I  will  tell  you,  Missionary,  why  I  have  not  believed  in  our 
old  paganism  for  a  long  time.  I  hear  God  in  the  thunder,  in 
the  tempest,  and  in  the  storm  ;  I  see  His  power  in  the  lightning 
that  shivers  the  tree  into  kindling  wood ;  I  see  His  goodness  in 
giving  us  the  moose,  the  reindeer,  the  beaver,  and  the  bear ;  I 
see  His  lovingkindness  in  giving  us,  when  the,  south  winds 
blow,  the  ducks  and  geese;  and  when  the  snow  and  ice  melt 
away,  and  our  lakes  and  rivers  are  open  again,  I  see  how  He 
fills  them  with  fish.  I  have  watched  these  things  for  years, 
and  I  see  how  during  every  moon  of  the  year  He  gives  us  some- 
thing ;  and  so  He  has  arranged  it,  that  if  we  are  only  industrious 
and  careful,  we  can  always  have  something  to  eat.  So  thinking 
about  these  things  which  I  had  observed,  I  made  up  my  mind 
years  ago,  that  this  Great  Spirit,  so  kind  and  so  watchful  and 
so  loving,  did  not  care  for  the  beating  of  the  conjurer's  drum,  or 
t  he  shaking  of  the  rattle  of  the  medicine  man.  So  I  for  years 
have  had  no  religion." 

Then  turning  towards  me  and  looking  one  in  the  face,  he  said, 
in  tones  that  thrilled  me,  "  Missionary,  what  you  have  said 
to-day  fills  up  my  heart  and  satisfies  all  its  longings.  It  is  just 
what  I  have  been  expecting  to  hear  about  the  Great  Spirit.  I 
am  so  glad  you  have  come  with  this  wonderful  story.  Stay  as 
long  as  you  can ;  and  when  you  have  to  go  away,  do  not  forget 
us,  but  come  again  as  soon  as  you  can." 

Loud  expressions  of  approval  greeted  these  words  of  the  chief 
When  he  had  finished,  I  said,  "  I  want  to  hear  from  others,  and 


120  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

I  want .  your  own  views  on  these  important  things."  Many 
responded  to  my  request,  and,  with  the  exception  of  an  old  con- 
jurer or  two,  who  feared  for  their  occupation,  all  spoke  in  the 
same  strain  as  did  the  head  chief.  The  last  to  speak  was  an  old 
man  with  grizzly  hair,  and  wild,  excited  movements.  He  was  a 
queer,  savage-looking  man,  and  came  from  the  rear  of  the  company 
to  the  front  with  strange  springy  movements.  His  hair  was 
braided,  and  reached  to  his  knees.  Threading  his  way  through 
the  audience,  he  came  up  close  to  me,  and  then,  pushing  his 
fingers  into  his  hair  as  far  as  its  braided  condition  would  allow, 
he  exclaimed  in  a  tone  full  of  earnestness,  "  Missionary,  once  my 
hair  was  as  black  as  a  crow's  wing,  now  it  is  getting  white.  Grey 
hairs  here,  and  grandchildren  in  the  wigwam,  tell  me  that  I  am 
getting  to  be  an  old  man  ;  and  yet  I  never  before  heard  such 
things  as  you  have  told  us  to-day.  I  am  so  glad  I  did  not  die 
before  I  heard  this  wonderful  story.  Yet  I  am  getting  old. 
Grey  hairs  here,  and  grandchildren  yonder,  tell  the  story.  Stay 
as  long  as  you  can,  Missionary,  tell  us  much  of  these  things,  and 
when  you  have  to  go  away,  come  back  soon,  for  I  have  grand- 
children, and  I  have  grey  hairs,  and  may  not  live  many  winters 
more.  Do  come  back  soon." 

He  turned  as  though  he  would  go  back  to  his  place  and  sit 
down ;  but  he  only  went  a  step  or  two  ere  he  turned  round  and 
faced  me,  and  said,  "  Missionary,  may  I  say  more? " 

"  Talk  on,"  I  said.     "  I  am  here  now  to  listen." 

"  You  said  just  now,  '  Notawenan.' "     ("  Our  Father.") 

"  Yes,"  I  said,  "  I  did  say,  '  Our  Father.' " 

"  That  is  very  new  and  sweet  to  us,"  he  said.  "  We  never 
thought  of  the  Great  Spirit  as  Father  :  we  heard  Him  in  the 
thunder,  and  saw  Him  in  the  lightning,  and  tempest,  and  blizzard, 
and  we  were  afraid.  So,  when  you  tell  us  of  the  Great  Spirit  as 
Father,  that  is  very  beautiful  to  us." 

Hesitating  a  moment,  he  stood  there,  a  wild,  picturesque 
Indian,  yet  my  heart  had  strangely  gone  out  in  loving  interest 
and  sympathy  to  him. 

Lifting  up  his  eyes  to  mine,  again  he  said,  "  May  I  say  more?" 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  "  say  on." 


THE  OLD  MAN   WITH  THE    WHITE  HAIR.'  121 

"  You  say,  '  ^otawenan ' "  (  "  our  Father  n  ).  "  He  is  your 
Father?" 

"  Yes,  He  is  my  Father." 

Then  he  said,  while  his  eyes  and  voice  yearned  for  the  answer, 
"  Does  it  mean  He  is  my  Father — poor  Indian's  Father  ? " 

"  Yes,  O  yes  !  "  I  exclaimed.     ««  He  is  your  Father  too." 

"  Your  Father — missionary's  Father,  and  Indian's  Father,  too  ?  " 
he  repeated. 

"  Yes,  that  is  true,"  I  answered. 

"  Then  we  are  brothers  ? "  he  almost  shouted  out. 

"  Yes,  we  are  brothers,"  I  replied.  The  excitement  in  the 
audience  had  become  something  wonderful.  When  our  conversa- 
tion with  the  old  man  had  reached  this  point,  and  in  such  an 
unexpected,  and  yet  dramatic  manner,  had  so  clearly  brought 
out,  not  only  the  Fatherhood  of  God,  but  the  oneness  of  the 
human  family,  the  people  could  hardly  restrain  their  expres- 
sions of  delight.  The  old  man,  however,  had  not  yet  finished, 
and  so,  quietly  restraining  the  most  demonstrative  ones,  he  again 
turned  to  me,  and  said, — 

"  May  I  say  more  ?  " 

"  Yes,  say  on ;  say  all  that  is  in  your  heart." 

Never  can  I  forget  his  answer. 

"  Well,  I  do  not  want  to  be  rude,  but  it  does  seem  to  me  that 
you,  my  white  brother,  have  been  a  long  time  in  coming  with 
that  great  Book  and  its  wonderful  story,  to  tell  it  to  your  red 
brothers  in  the  woods." 

This  question  thrilled  me,  and  I  found  it  hard  to  answer. 
This  is  the  question  that  millions  of  weary,  longing,  waiting  souls, 
dissatisfied  with  their  false  religions,  and  craving  for  that  soul 
rest  which  only  can  be  found  in  the  Hearty  acceptance  of  the 
glorious  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  are  asking.  I  tried  to  apologise 
for  the  slowness  of  the  advancement  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom, 
and  the  apathy  of  those  who,  while  acknowledging  the  brother- 
hood of  humanity,  so  often  forget  that  they  are  their  brother's 
keeper. 

We  closed  the  service  for  a  brief  period,  and  then,  as  soon  as 
a,  hurried  dinner  had  been  eaten,  we  all  assembled  again  for  the 


122  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

afternoon  service.  This  second  service  lasted  for  five  hours. 
After  singing  and  prayer,  I  read  the  beautiful  story  of  the  Ethio- 
pian eunuch,  and  the  Baptismal  Service.  I  endeavoured  to  explain 
what  we  meant  by  becoming  Christians,  and  stated  that  I  was 
willing  to  baptize  all  who  would  renounce  their  paganism,  with 
its  polygamy,  conjuring,  gambling,  and  other  vices,  and  from  that 
time  begin  to  worship  the  true  God.  Polygamy  was  the  greatest 
stumbling-block  among  them,  as  some  of  them  had  three  or 
four  wives.  Intemperance  here  is  but  little  known,  on  account 
perhaps  of  the  great  difficulty  of  importing  liquor  into  a  region 
so  remote  from  civilisation. 

After  I  had  spent  a  long  time  in  making  clear  the  doctrines  of 
the  blessed  Book,  and  had  answered  many  questions,  I  invited  all 
who  were  willing  to  comply  with  these  conditions,  and  desired 
baptism,  to  come  to  the  front  of  the  audience,  where  I  was 
standing. 

About  forty  men  and  women  immediately  responded,  and  came 
forward  and  seated  themselves  at  my  feet.  Some  were  trembling, 
others  were  weeping :  all  seemed  deeply  moved.  Then  I  read  the 
beautiful  Scripture  lessons  in  connection  with  the  baptismal 
service  for  children,  and  dwelt  upon  the  love  of  Jesus  for  children, 
and  His  willingness  to  receive  them.  I  invited  the  parents  to 
consecrate  their  children  to  God,  even  if  they  themselves  were 
as  yet  undecided.  We  had  a  solemn  and  impressive  time. 

All  desired  new  names,  and  for  the  great  majority  I  had  to 
make  the  selection.  While  baptizing  them  and  selecting  Christian 
names  as  additions  to  their  generally  poetic  and  expressive  Indian 
names,  my  constant  prayer  was,  that  they  might  "  see  His  face, 
and  His  name  "  be  written  "  in  their  foreheads." 

Still  there  was  some  opposition.  Satan  would  not  thus  easily 
be  dispossessed  or  driven  out.  Old  conjurers  and  medicine  men, 
faithful  followers  of  the  enemy,  quickly  began  their  opposition. 
Their  selfish  natures  were  aroused.  They  were  shrewd  enough  to 
see  that  if  I  succeeded,  as  I  was  likely  to  do,  they,  like  Demetrius, 
the  shrine-maker  of  Diana,  would  soon  be  without  an  occupation. 
So  at  this  afternoon  gathering  they  were  there  to  oppose.  But 
they  were  in  such  a  helpless  minority  that  they  dared  do  no  worse 


THE  OLD    CONJURER'S  RAOE.  123 

than  storm  and  threaten.  One  savage  old  conjurer  rushed  up  to 
me,  just  as  I  was  about  to  baptize  his  wife,  who,  with  many 
others,  had  come  for  this  sign  and  seal  of  her  acceptance  of  Christ. 
Before  I  had  perceived  his  purpose,  or  had  power  to  stop  him,  he 
seized  and  shook  her  roughly,  and,  looking  at  me,  in  his  impotent 
wrath,  said  in  an  insulting  manner, 

"Call  her  Atim  "  ("  dog "). 

"  No,"  I  said,  looking  kindly  at  the  poor  trembling  woman,  "  I 
will  do  nothing  of  the  kind ;  but  I  will  give  her  the  sweetest 
name  ever  borne  by  woman,  for  it  was  the  name  of  the  mother  of 
Jesus." 

So  I  baptized  her  Mary. 

We  spent  several  days  in  giving  lessons  in  the  Syllabic  characters 
between  the  religious  services,  three  of  which  we  endeavoured  to 
hold  each  day.  Sometimes  we  assembled  all  the  people  together, 
and,  with  these  characters  marked  on  the  side  of  a  rock  with  a 
burnt  stick,  we  taught  them  as  best  we  could.  At  other  times 
we  went  from  tent  to  tent,  and  gave  them  lessons,  and  had 
religious  conversation  and  prayer. 

It  was  on  one  of  these  rounds  of  wigwam  visitations  that  I 
came  across  Pe-pe-qua-na-pua,  or  Sandy  Harte,  the  story  of  whose 
life  and  conversion  has  been  so  widely  circulated.  Several 
acquired  such  a  knowledge  of  these  characters  that,  by  persevering 
for  a  few  weeks,  they  were  able  to  read  very  nicely  in  the  blessed 
Book. 

I  left  with  them  several  dozen  copies  of  the  New  Testament, 
Hymn-books,  and  Catechisms,  in  their  own  language. 

So  great  was  their  anxiety  for  religious  instruction,  that  many 
of  them  remained  for  three  days  after  they  had  eaten  all  of  their 
provisions.  When  I  first  heard  this,  I  could  hardly  credit  it,  but 
found  out  by  personal  investigation  that  it  was  the  actual  fact. 
With  tears  in  their  eyes  they  bade  me  farewell,  and  said,  that  on 
account  of  their  famishing  children  they  must  start  off  for  their 
fishing  and  hunting  grounds.  But  ,they  added,  "  What  we  have 
heard  from  you  will  make  us  glad  and  thankful  all  the  time." 

With  my  faithful  travelling  companions,  I  made  a  trip  out 
from  Nelson  River  to  another  small  band  about  thirty  miles 


124  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

away.  We  spent  the  Sabbath  in  a  miserable  wigwam,  where  the 
snow  and  sleet  dashed  in  upon  us,  making  us  shiver  in  spite  of 
all  we  could  do.  Still,  as  the  poor  Indians  were  anxious  to  hear 
the  Gospel,  we  soon  forgot  our  physical  discomforts  in  the  joy 
of  preaching  this  great  salvation.  Nineteen  of  them  accepted 
Christ  as  their  Saviour,  and  were  baptized.  We  held  a  meeting 
for  the  purpose  of  hearing  them  tell  of  their  wishes  as  to  this 
blessed  religion.  Many  very  interesting  things  were  said.  We 
here  record  only  one. 

A  fine-looking  man  said,  "  What  has  fully  decided  me  to 
endeavour  to  be  a  good  Christian  all  my  days  is  this.  The 
Missionary  has  told  us  many  reasons,  all  sufficient  to  decide 
us ;  but  the  one  that  came  very  near  to  my  heart  was,  that  all 
the  little  children  who  have  died  have  been  taken  to  that  better 
land,  and  there  they  are  with  the  loving  Saviour  in  heaven. 
My  little  ones  have  passed  away,  leaving  my  heart  sore  and 
bleeding.  I  yearn  after  them  ;  I  long  to  meet  them  again.  So 
I  want  so  to  live  that  when  I  die  Jesus  will  permit  me  to  embrace 
them,  and  never  be  separated  from  them  again." 

On  this  trip,  we  found  at  another  small  encampment  a  young 
girl,  about  twelve  years  of  age,  dying  of  consumption.  I  talked 
to  her  of  Jesus  and  heaven,  and  prayed  with  her  several  times. 
When  the  closing  scene  drew  near,  she  said  to  her  sorrowing 
mother,  "  I  am  glad  the  praying  man  has  told  me  such  words 
of  comfort.  I  have  lost  that  dread  of  death  I  had.  I  believe 
that  dear  Jesus  will  take  me  to  that  better  land ;  but,  mother, 
when  you  come,  •will  you  look  for  me  until  you  find  me?  'for  I  do 
wish  to  see  you  again." 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  I  became  deeply  attached  to  these 
Nelson  River  Indians  ?  I  visited  them  twice  a  year,  and  by 
pen  and  voice  pleaded  for  them  until  my  heart's  desire  was 
obtained,  and  a  brother  beloved  volunteered  to  go  and  live  amon# 
them.  Of  him  with  joy  I  write. 


CHAPTER    XL 

A  WELCOME  ACCESSION — THE  REV.  JOHN  SEMMENS — A  DEVOTED  YOUNG 
MISSIONARY — FIRST  TO  RESIDE  AT  NELSON  RIVER — IN  LABOURS  AND 
IN  PERILS  OFT— IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFT  BY  DOG-TRAINS  TOGETHER — 
THE  CENTENARIAN  OLD  CHRISTIAN— WILLIAM  PAPANEKIS— HIS 
GODLY  LIFE  AND  WONDROUS  TRANSLATION. 

ONE  cold  wintry  morning  we  were  gladdened  by  the  arrival 
of  a  dear  brother  and  colleague  in  the  work,  the  Rev.  John 
Semmens,  who  had  left  a  comfortable  charge  in  Ontario,  and 
had  come  out  to  help  me  in  the  prosecution  of  the  blessed  work. 
Brother  Semmens  had  to  taste,  early  in  his  missionary  work 
among  the  Indians,  some  of  the  dangers  incident  to  such  a  life. 
He  came  to  us  at  Norway  House  in  the  depth  of  the  winter,  and 
suffered  much  from  the  intense  cold  and  blizzard  storms.  One 
night,  while  trying  to  rest  in  the  camp  in  the  woods  on  his  way 
out,  a  fierce  storm  blew  down  a  large  tree,  which  fell  very  close 
to  him.  Providentially  no  one  was  hurt. 

He  soon  became  very  popular  among  the  Indians,  for  whom  he 
subsequently  gave  many  years  of  successful,  ^self-denying  toil. 
His  presence  with  us  in  our  home  was.  a  great  joy.  None  but 
those  who  have  been  deprived  of  the  pleasure  of  the  society  and 
fellowship  of  kindred  spirits  can  realise  what  a  benediction  this 
sweet-spirited  and  devoted  young  brother  was  in  our  home. 
With  one  great  object  before  us,  that  of  doing  the  greatest 
possible  good  we  could  to  the  Indians  among  whom  we  were 
called  to  labour,  and  fortunately  seeing  "  eye  to  eye  "  as  to  the 
methods  of  our  work,  we  spent  some  months  and  broken  years 
in  harmony  in  doing  what  we  could. 


126  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

Brother  Semmens*  name  will  ever  be  associated  with  the 
Nelson  River  Mission,  as  he  was  the  first  missionary  to  go  and 
live  in  that  region  of  country  and  among  those  wandering  Abori- 
gines, who  had  received  me  with  such  expressions  of  joy  when 
on  my  visits,  so  few,  alas  !  and  far  between.  Very  many  indeed 
were  Mr.  Semmens'  hardships.  Their  wandering  life  made  his 
work  slow  and  at  times  discouraging.  He  had  not  at  first  a 
knowledge  of  their  language,  and  could  not  always  get  an  inter- 
preter. However,  as  the  love  of  Christ  was  the  constraining 
motive,  he  persevered,  and  great  indeed  was  his  success  among 
them. 

We  will  not  here  insert  any  of  the  many  thrilling  incidents  of 
his  romantic  pioneer  work  among  them.  We  hope  that  from  his 
fluent  pen  will  come  his  own  record,  which  will  be  a  very  valuable 
addition  to  missionary  literature.  Often  did  we,  like  the  early 
ones  sent  out  by  the  Master  in  pairs,  go  together  on  some  long 
and  difficult  exploring  tours.  At  many  a  camp-fire  and  in  many 
a  wigwam  have  we  talked  and  pleaded  with  the  wandering 
Indians,  and  have  besought  them  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  Hun- 
dreds of  miles  have  we  tramped  on  together,  until  our  limbs  were 
cramped  and  our  feet  were  bleeding  ;  and  then,  in  the  cold  camp 
after  supper  and  prayers,  have  we  crowded  in  close  together 
under  the  same  robes  and  tried  to  sleep.  Will  either  of  us  ever 
forget  the  trip  in  to  District  Meeting  at  Winnipeg,  where  on  the 
great  Lake  we  got  separated  from  the  rest  of  our  party,  but  by 
rapid  travelling  reached  the  comfortable  home  and  cordial  welcome 
of  our  beloved  Chairman,  the  Rev.  George  Young,  thus  escaping 
the  terrible  blizzard  in  which  so  many  suffered  ?  Then  the  return 
trip  was  equally  exciting  and  perilous.  We  left  Winnipeg  on 
the  Saturday  afternoon  with  our  heavily  loaded  dog  sleds.  At 
Mr.  Sif ton's,  near  Selkirk,  we  were  cordially  welcomed,  and  here 
we  remained  in  quiet  rest  and  joyous  worship  during  the  Sabbath 
day.  When  the  clock  struck  the  hour  of  midnight,  we  exchanged 
our  black  clothes  for  our  leather  suits.  We  harnessed  up  our 
dogs,  and  then,  after  eating  a  midnight  meal,  we  bade  our  host 
and  hostess  farewell,  and  pushed  out  under  the  stars  on  our  long 
journey  to  the  far  North,  Mr.  Semmens'  journey  would  not  be 


"WE   EXCHANGED   OUR   BLACK   CLOTHES   FOR   OUR   LEATHER  STJIT8  '  (p.   126). 


128  £1    CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

finished  until  he  was  six  or  seven  hundred  miles  nearer  the  North 
Pole. 

Mr.  Sifton  told  me  in  after  years,  that  they  could  only  sit 
there  and  weep  as  they  thought  of  our  starting  off  in  the  bitter 
cold  and  gloom  of  that  midnight  hour  on  such  a  journey. 
Missionary  work  to  them  from  that  hour  took  on  itself  additional 
interest,  and  ever  after  much  greater,  if  possible,  was  their  love 
for  those  who  for  His  sake  were  willing  to  endure  hardness  in 
extending  the  knowledge  of  His  Name. 

Ere  the  sun  rose,  we  were  near  the  Willow  Islands,  and  there 
we  had  our  breakfast.  It  was  getting  late  in  the  winter  season, 
and  so  the  reflection  of  the  brilliant  rays  of  the  sun  on  the 
dazzlingly  white  snowy  waste  of  Winnipeg  gave  us  both  a  touch 
of  snow-blindness.  Still,  as  we  could  see  a  little,  we  only  stopped 
when  it  was  necessary,  and  rapidly  hurried  on.  When  about 
twenty  miles  from  Beren's  River  night  came  down  upon  us ;  but 
I  could  not  bear  the  idea  of  having  again  to  sleep  in  a  miserable 
camp  when  home  was  so  near,  for  at  this  time  I  was  in  charge  of  the 
new  work  among  the  Saulteaux.  So  I  said  to  Brother  Semmens, 
and  to  our  two  well-disciplined  dog-drivers,  "  Courage,  men,  a 
little  longer;  let  us  not  stop  here  in  the  bitter  cold  when  our 
homes  are  so  near."  The  Indians  responded  with  a  will,  and 
rejoiced  that  we  were  to  go  on.  But  my  beloved  Brother 
Semmens  was  completely  tired  out,  and  my  heart  was  filled  with 
sorrow  as  I  saw  how  utterly  exhausted  he  was.  Throwing  himself 
down  on  the  cold,  icy  surface  of  the  lake,  he  said,  "  Throw  me 
out  a  blanket  and  a  piece  of  pemmican,  and  leave  me  here.  I 
cannot  go  a  step  further.  The  rest  of  you  have  wives  and 
children  to  lure  you  on  to  your  homes ;  I  have  none.  I  can  go 
no  farther.  My  feet  are  bleeding  from  the  straps  of  my  snow- 
shoes.  I  will  stay  here.  Never  mind  me." 

Thus  the  dear  fellow  talked,  for  he  was  exhausted  and  dis- 
couraged. I  did  not  feel  much  better,  but  I  tried  to  put  a  bold 
face  on  the  matter,  and  I  said,  "  No,  indeed,  we  will  not  leave 
you  here.  We  are  going  on,  and  we  are  going  to  take  you  with 
us ;  and  a  good  supper  under  a  roof,  and  then  a  wa-  m  bed,  are  to 
be  yours  before  morning  comes." 


ACCIDENTS  AND   HARDSHIPS.  129 

One  of  my  dogs,  called  Muff,  a  magnificent  but  over-ambitious 
St.  Bernard,  the  gift  of  Mrs.  Andrew  Allen,  of  Montreal,  had 
broken  her  collar-bone  during  this  trip.  The  plan  generally 
adopted,  when  such  an  accident  happens  to  one  of  the  dogs,  was 
to  kill  it  at  once,  and  then  push  on  with  the  diminished  train. 
However,  as  Muff  was  such  a  valuable  dog,  and  there  was  a 
possibility  of  her  recovering,  I  decided  to  carry  her  home,  although 
we  were  a  long  distance  from  it.  I  so  arranged  my  sled  that  she 
could  ride  upon  it,  and  she  soon  became  quite  reconciled  to  her 
place.  But  it  meant  a  good  deal  of  hard  running  for  me.  Before 
the  accident  occurred,  I  could  ride  a  great  part  of  the  time, 
although  we  had  over  six  hundred  pounds  weight  upon  the  sled. 
However,  as  Jack  was  one  of  the  train,  I  was  able  to  ride  when 
the  ice  was  good.  Now,  however,  with  one  dog  less  in  the  train, 
and  that  one  as  so  much  additional  weight  on  the  sled,  it  meant 
the  end  of  my  riding  for  that  trip. 

Very  quickly  did  I  decide  how  to  act  in  order  to  help  my  dear 
companion  in  tribulation.  With  our  axes  my  Indians  and 
myself  chopped  a  hole  in  the  solidly  packed  snow  and  ice  near  the 
shore  of  the  lake.  In  this  we  spread  out  a  buffalo  robe,  and  on 
it  we  placed  the  injured  dog.  Then  around  her  we  placed  the 
greater  part  of  the  load  of  the  dog-sled,  and  then  covered  all  up 
as  well  as  we  could  with  the  large  deer-skin  sleigh  wrapper. 
Giving  the  dog  orders  to  guard  well  the  supplies  from  prowling 
wild  animals,  and  making  a  large  number  of  tracks  as  an 
additional  precaution,  we  left  Muff  there  with  her  goods. 

Then  we  drove  the  dogs  over  to  the  spot  where  Mr.  Semmens 
lay,  and,  wrapping  him  well  up  in  robes  and  putting  a  little 
pillow  under  his  head,  we  tied  him  on  the  -sled,  and  started  off  on 
the  last  stage  of  our  journey.  We  were  all  so  weary  that  we 
made  but  slow  progress,  and  it  was  after  midnight  ere  the 
welcome  Mission  House  was  reached,  and  we  were  within  the 
walls  of  home. 

Mr.  Semmens  had  fortunately  slept  most  of  the  way.  A  good 
supper,  after  a  warm  bath,  and  then  a  long,  sweet,  dreamless 
sleep,  that  lasted  until  nearly  noon  of  the  next  day,  wonderfully 
refreshed  his  spirits,  and  as  he  came  down  and  greeted  us,  his 

9 


130  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

first  words  were,  "  0  Egerton,  I  am  so  glad  you  did  not  leave  me 
there  to  perish  on  the  ice  ! " 

Still  in  his  prime,  with  a  nohle  wife  and  precious  children 
around  him,  he  is  in  that  land  doing  good  service  for  the  Master. 
From  him  we  yet  expect  to  hear  good  tidings,  for  in  physical 
strength  and  mental  equipment  and  thorough  consecration  to  his 
work  he  is  the  peer  of  any  who  there  toil. 

THE  CENTENARIAN. 

One  of  the  first  Indians  to  attract  our  attention  at  Norway 
House  was  a  venerable-looking  old  man  of  more  than  usual 
height.  His  appearance  was  quite  patriarchal.  His  welcome 
had  been  most  cordial,  and  his  words  seemed  to  us  like  a  loving 
benediction.  He  called  us  his  children,  and  welcomed  us  to  our 
home  and  work  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

As  he  was  very  aged,  and  had  to  come  a  long  distance  from 
his  home  to  the  Sunday  morning  service,  we  invited  him,  on  the 
first  Sunday  after  our  arrival  at  the  Mission,  to  dine  with  us. 
He  was  very  grateful,  and  said  this  would  enable  him  to  remain 
for  the  afternoon  native  service,  which  he  dearly  prized.  He 
was  not  only  a  blessed  Christian,  but  a  natural  gentleman.  We 
were  so  drawn  towards  him  that  we  invited  him  to  dine  with  us, 
and  then  rest  awhile,  each  Sabbath  between  the  services. 

Like  all  the  old  Indians,  his  age  was  unknown,  but  it  must 
have  been  over  a  century,  as  men  above  fifty  said  he  was  called 
an  old  man  when  they  were  boys.  The  fact  that  his  name  had 
been  on  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  book  for  eighty  years,  as  a 
skilful  hunter,  makes  it  quite  safe  to  class  him  as  a  centenarian. 

His  testimony  to  the  blessedness  of  the  Gospel  was  very  clear 
and  delightful.  He  "knew  Whom  he  had  believed,"  and  ever 
rejoiced  in  the  blessed  assurance  that  he  would  have  grace  given 
to  keep  him  to  the  end.  He  was  one  of  the  first  converts  of  the 
early  Missionaries,  and  had  remained  true  and  steadfast.  He  had 
been  a  successful  Class  Leader  for  many  years,  and  faithfully  and 
well  did  he  attend  to  his  duties.  If  any  of  his  members  were 
not  at  the  meeting,  he  knew  the  reason  why  before  the  next 
evening,  if  they  were  within  five  or  six  miles  of  his  home. 


THE  CENTENARIAN  INDIAN.  JM 

As  he  lived  a  couple  of  years  after  we  reached  the  Mission,  we 
got  to  be  very  well  acquainted,  and  it  was  ever  a  blessing  to 
talk  to  him  of  spiritual  things.  I  had  a  very  convincing 
evidence  one  day  of  the  thoroughness  with  which  he  had 
renounced  his  old  pagan  life  and  its  sinful  practices.  We  had 
been  talking  on  various  subjects,  and  the  matter  of  different 
kinds  of  beliefs  came  up.  As  he  hac  a  very  retentive  memory, 
and  I  had  been  told  thaf  he  wa*>  tho  best  authority  on  old 
Indian  religions  and  superstitions,  I  took  out  of  my  pocket  a 
note-book  and  pencil  anu  said,  "  Mismis "  (English,  "  Grand- 
father "),  "  I  want  you  to  tell  me  some  things  about  your  old 
conjurings  and  religions.  I  may  want  to  write  a  book  some 
time,  and  put  some  of  these  things  in  it." 

The  dear  old  man's  face  became  clouded,  and  he  shook  his  head 
and  remained  silent. 

I  urged  my  request,  saying  I  felt  certain  he,  from  his  great 
age,  must  have  much  to  talk  about.  For  his  answer,  he  sat  down 
in  his  chair,  and,  putting  his  elbows  on  his  knees,  buried  his  face 
in  his  hands,  and  seemed  lost  in  a  kind  of  reverie. 

I  waited  for  a  few  minutes,  for  all  was  hushed  and  still.  His 
family  had  heard  my  question,  and  they  had  ^come  intensely 
interested.  The  silence  becamv  almost  painful,  and  so  I  said  in 
a  cheery  strain,  •*  Come,  gmndfa^hei,  1  am  waiting  to  write  down 
what  you  have  to  say." 

Suddenly  he  sprang  up  in  a  way  that  startled  us  all,  and, 
stretching  out  his  hand  like  an  orator,  he  began: — 

"  Missionary  !  the  oH  wicked  life  is  like  a  nightmare,  like  a 
bad  dream,  like  a  terrible  sickness  th«t  made  us  cry  out  with 
pain.  I  am  trying  to  banish  it,  to  forget  it,  to  wipe  it  out  of 
my  memory.  Please  do  not  ask  me  to  talk  about  it,  or  to  bring 
it  up.  I  could  not  sleep ;  I  should  be  miserable." 

Of  course  I  put  up  my  book  and  pencil,  and  did  not  further 
trouble  the  dear  old  man,  who  seemed  so  loth  to  talk  about  his 
old  belief. 

The  next  Sunday  after  this  interview  we  had  a  Fellowship 
Meeting  in  the  church.  One  of  the  first  to  speak  was  this 
venerable  grandfather.  He  said,  '•  The  Missionary  wanted  me 


132  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

to  talk  to  him  about  my  old  religion.  I  could  not  do  it.  It  was 
my  enemy.  It  only  made  me  miserable.  The  more  I  followed 
it,  the  more  unhappy  I  was.  So  I  have  cast  it  out  of  my  life, 
and  from  my  heart.  Would  that  I  could  wash  it  out  of  my 
memory  ! "  Then  he  added,  "  But  perhaps  the  memory  of  it  helps 
to  make  me  love  my  Saviour  better,  as  I  can  remember  from 
what  He  has  saved  me.  I  was  so  far  from  him,  and  so  dark  and 
sinful.  He  reached  down  His  strong  arm  and  lifted  me  out  of 
the  dark  place,  and  put  me  into  the  light.  O,  I  am  so  thankful 
Jesus  saves  me,  and  I  love  to  talk  about  it." 

And  he  did  talk  about  it,  and  our  hearts  rejoiced  with  him. 

Of  him  it  could  be  truthfully  said,  "  What  he  once  loved  he 
now  hates,  and  does  it  so  thoroughly  that  he  does  not  even  wish 
to  talk  about  it." 

While  writing  these  pleasant  memories,  perhaps  I  cannot  do 
better  than  here  record  the  remarkable  closing  scenes  of  the  life 
of  this  venerable  old  man,  the  patriarch  of  the  village.  His 
family  was  a  large  one.  He  had  several  sons.  Worthy,  excellent 
men  they  were.  About  some  of  them  we  shall  have  interesting 
things  to  say.  The  youngest,  Edward,  it  was  my  joy  to  lead  into 
the  sweet  assurance  that  his  sins  were  all  forgiven.  In  July, 
1889,  he  was  ordained,  in  Winnipeg,  to  the  office  and  work  of  the 
Christian  ministry. 

Martin,  another  of  his  sons,  was  one  of  my  most  loved  and 
trusted  guides,  and  my  companion,  for  thousands  of  miles,  in 
birch  canoe  by  summer,  and  dog- trains  by  winter.  We  have 
looked  death  in  the  face  together  many  times,  but  I  never  knew 
him  to  flinch  or  play  a  coward's  part.  Supplies  might  fail,  and 
storms  and  head-winds  delay  us,  until  starvation  stared  us  in  the 
face,  and  even  the  Missionary  himself  began  to  question  the 
wisdom  of  taking  these  wild  journeys  where  the  chances  were 
largely  against  our  return,  when  from  Martin,  or  one  of  the 
others,  would  come  the  apt  quotation  from  the  Sacred  Word,  or 
from  their  musical  voices  the  cheering  hymn  which  said, — 

"  Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears  ; 
Hope,  and  be  undismayed : 
God  hears  thy  sighs,  and  counts  thy  tears, 
God  shall  lift  up  thy  head. 


134  BY   CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

*  Through  waves  and  clouds  and  storms 

He  gently  clears  thy  way  : 
Wait  thou  His  time,  so  shall  this  night 
Soon  end  in  joyous  day." 

Very  precious  and  very  real  were  many  of  the  blessed  promises, 
and  their  fulfilment,  to  us  in  those  times  of  peril  and  danger, 
when  death  seemed  to  be  so  near,  and  we  so  helpless  and 
dependent  upon  the  Almighty  arm. 

Another  son  of  this  old  saint  was  Samuel,  the  courageous  guide 
and  modest,  unassuming  Christian.  He  was  the  one  who  guided 
his  well-loaded  brigade  up  the  mighty  Saskatchewan  river  to  the 
rescue  of  the  whites  there,  and  having  safely  and  grandly  done 
his  work,  "  holding  on  to  God,"  went  up  the  shining  way  so 
triumphantly  that  there  lingered  behind  on  his  once  pallid  face 
some  radiance  of  the  glory  like  that  into  which  he  had  entered ; 
and  some  seeing  it  were  smitten  with  a  longing  to  have  it  as 
their  portion,  and  so,  then  and  there,  they  gave  themselves  to 
God.  Of  him  we  shall  hear  more  farther  on. 

One  day  when  the  venerable  father  met  his  class,  he  told  his 
members  that  his  work  was  nearly  done,  and  very  soon  indeed 
he  expected  to  pass  over  to  the  better  land.  Although  as  well 
as  he  had  been  for  months,  yet  he  had  a  premonition  that  the 
end  of  his  life  was  near.  Very  lovingly  and  faithfully  did  ho 
talk  to  them,  and  exhorted  them  to  be  faithful  to  the  end. 

The  next  day  he  sent  for  me,  and  requested  me  to  appoint 
one  of  his  sons  as  leader  of  his  class,  if  I  thought  him  worthy 
of  the  place. 

I  said,  "We  do  not  want  to  lose  you.  Your  class  members 
all  love  you.  Why  resign  your  position  ?  " 

A  strange  look  in  his  face  told  me  that  he  had  set  his  heart 
on  joining  another  company,  and  that  it  seemed  as  though  he 
were  only  postponing  his  departure  until  his  little  affairs  on 
earth  were  set  in  order. 

"  I  am  going  \  ery  soon  now,  and  I  want  to  have  everything 
settled  before  I  go ;  and  I  shall  be  so  glad  to  see  my  son 
William  leader  of  my  class,  if  you  think  it  best." 


A  MARVELLOUS  TRANSLATION.  135 

As  the  son  was  a  most  excellent  man  the  appointment  was 
made,  much  to  the  aged  father's  delight. 

The  next  day  he  had  assembled  all  the  old  members  who  had 
renounced  paganism  and  become  Christians  at  the  same  time 
he  did  over  thirty  years  before.  There  were  enough  of  them  to 
fill  his  house,  and  all  came  who  possibly  could.  They  sang  and 
prayed  together,  and  then  he  stood  up  before  them  and  addressed 
them  in  loving  and  affectionate  words. 

As  I  sat  there  and  looked  upon  the  scene,  while,  for  about  anj 
hour,  he  was  reviewing  the  past,  and  talking  of  God's  goodness 
in  bringing  them  out  of  paganism,  and  conferring  so  many 
blessings  upon  them,  I  thought  of  Joshua's  memorable  gathering 
of  the  elder  people  at  Shechem  to  hear  his  dying  charge.  At 
his  request  I  administered  to  them  all,  and  those  of  his  many 
relations  who  were  worthy,  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  -Supper. 
It  was  a  most  impressive  time.  He  Whose  dying  we  celebrated 
seemed  in  Spirit  very  blessedly  near. 

Then  perhaps  another  hour  was  spent,  at  his  desire,  in  singing 
his  favourite  hymns  and  in  prayer.  He  entered  with  great 
spirit  into  the  devotions,  and  many  said  afterwards,  "  Heaven 
seemed  very  near."  I  shook  hands  with  him  and  said,  "Good- 
bye," and  returned  to  my  home.  With  the  exception  of  a  little 
weariness  on  account  of  the  exciting  services  through  which  he 
had  passed,  I  saw  no  change  in  him.  His  voice  was  just  as 
cheery,  his  eye  as  bright,  his  grip  as  firm  as  usual,  and  I  saw  no 
reason  why  he  should  not  live  a  good  while  yet. 

About  an  hour  after,  while  talking  the  matter  over  with  Mrs. 
Young,  and  giving  her  some  of  the  specially  interesting  incidents 
of  the  memorable  services  with  our  dear  old  friend,  there  was  a 
sudden  call  for  me  by  an  Indian,  who,  rushing  in  without  any 
ceremony,  exclaimed,  *'  Come  quickly  ;  grandfather  is  dead  !  "  I 
hurriedly  returned  with  him,  and  found  that  the  aged  patriarch 
had  indeed  passed  away. 

They  told  me  that  after  I  had  left  them  he  continued  for  a 
time  to  speak  loving  words  of  counsel  and  advice  to  them.  Then, 
as  had  been  his  habit,  he  lay  down  on  his  bed,  and  drew  his 
blanket  around  him,  as  though  prepared  for  rest.  As  they  knew 


1S6  B\    CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

he  must  be  weary,  they  kept  very  still,  so  as  not  to  disturb  him 
Not  hearing  him  breathe,  one  of  them  touched  him,  and  found 
that  he  had  fallen  into  that  sleep  which  here  knows  no  waking. 
He  was  not,  for  God  had  taken  him. 

It  was  a  remarkable  death.  The  great  difficulty  among  us 
seemed  to  be,  to  realise  the  presence  of  death  at  all.  He  suffered 
from  no  disease,  and  never  complained  of  pain.  His  mind  was 
unclouded  till  the  last.  In  his  humble  position  he  had  done  his 
work,  and  done  it  well ;  and  so  now,  with  all  the  confidence  of  a 
loving  child  resting  in  the  arms  of  a  mother,  he  laid  his  head 
down  on  the  bosom  of  his  Lord. 

With  rejoicings,  rather  than  weepings,  we  laid  in  the  little 
graveyard  all  that  was  mortal  of  William  Papanekis.  We  missed 
him  very  much,  for  his  presence  was  like  the  sunshine,  and  his 
prayers  were  benedictions  upon  us  all. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

REV.  JAMES  EVANS,  THE  PEERLESS  MISSIONARY — HIS  JOURNEYS  BY  CANOE 
AND  DOG-TBAIN— THE  CREE  SYLLABIC  CHARACTERS,  HIS  INVENTION 
— LORD  DUPPERIN'S  WORDS  CONCERNING  HIM— HIS  SUCCESSES— HIS 
TRIALS — ACCIDENTAL  SHOOTING  OP  HIS  INTERPRETER— SURRENDER- 
ING HIMSELF  TO  THE  AVENGERS — ADOPTED  INTO  A  PAGAN  FAMILY — 
VISIT  TO  ENGLAND — SUDDEN  DEATH. 

WITHOUT  any  question,  the  Rev.  James  Evans  was  the 
grandest  and  most  successful  of  all  our  Indian  Missionaries. 
Of  him  it  can  be  said  most  emphatically,  While  others  have  done 
well,  he  excelled  them  all. 

In  burning  zeal,  in  heroic  efforts,  in  journeyings  oft,  in  tact 
that  never  failed  in  many  a  trying  hour,  in  success  most  marvel- 
lous, in  a  vivacity  and  sprightliness  that  never  succumbed  to 
discouragement,  in  a  faith  that  never  faltered,  and  in  a  solicitude 
for  the  spread  of  our  blessed  Christianity  that  never  grew  less, 
James  Evans  stands  among  us  without  a  peer. 

If  full  accounts  of  his  long  journeys  in  the  wilds  of  the  great 
North-West  could  be  written,  they  would  equal  in  thrilling 
interest  anything  of  the  kind  known  in  modern  missionary 
annals.  There  is  hardly  an  Indian  Mission  of  any  prominence 
to-day  in  the  whole  of  the  vast  North- West,  whether  belonging 
to  the  Church  of  England,  the  Roman  Catholic,  or  the  Methodist 
Church,  that  James  Evans  did  not  commence;  and  the  reason 
why  the  Methodist  Church  to-day  does  not  hold  them  all  is, 
because  the  apathetic  Church  did  not  respond  to  his  thrilling 
appeals,  and  send  in  men  to  take  possession  and  hold  the  fields 
as  fast  as  they  were  successfully  opened  up  by  him. 


138  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

From  the  northern  shores  of  Lake  Superior  away  to  the 
ultima  Thule  that  lies  beyond  the  waters  of  Athabasca  and  Slave 
Lakes,  where  the  Aurora  Borealis  holds  high  carnival;  from  the 
beautiful  prairies  of  the  Bow  and  Saskatchewan  Rivers  to  the 
muskegs  and  sterile  regions  of  Hudson's  Bay ;  from  the  fair  and 
fertile  domains  of  Red  and  Assinaboia  Rivers,  to  the  foot-hills  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  enduring  footprints  of  James  Evans  may 
still  be  seen. 

At  many  a  camp-fire,  and  in  many  a  lonely  wigwam,  old 
Indians  yet  linger,  whose  eyes  brighten  and  whose  tongues  wax 
eloquent  as  they  recall  that  man  whose  deeds  live  on,  and  whose 
converts  from  a  degrading  paganism  are  still  to  be  counted  by 
scores.  Many  a  weary  hour  has  been  charmed  away,  as  I  have 
listened  to  Papanekis  the  elder,  or  Henry  Budd,  or  some  other 
old  Indian  guide  or  dog-driver,  or  canoe-man,  while  they  rehearsed 
the  thrilling  adventures,  the  narrow  escapes,  the  wonderful 
deliverances,  and  also  some  of  the  tragic  events,  through  which 
they  passed  in  company  with  the  "  Nistum  Ayumeaookemou," 
the  "  first  Missionary." 

The  dog-drivers  loved  to  talk  about  Mr.  Evans'  wonderful 
train  of  half  dogs,  half  wolves,  with  which  for  years  he  travelled. 
With  great  enthusiasm  they  would  talk  of  their  marvellous  speed 
and  endurance,  of  their  fierceness  and  sagacity;  of  how,  when  the 
nights  in  the  wintry  camps  were  unusually  cold — say  fifty  or  sixty 
degrees  below  zero — these  fierce  animals  would  crowd  into  the 
camp,  and,  lying  on  their  backs,  would  hold  up  both  their  fore 
and  hind  feet,  and  thus  mutely  beg  for  some  one  to  have*  compas- 
sion upon  them  and  put  on  the  warm  woollen  dog-shoes. 

His  canoe  trips  were  often  of  many  weeks'  duration,  and 
extended  for  thousands  of  miles.  No  river  seemed  too  rapid, 
and  no  lake  too  stormy,  to  deter  him  in  his  untiring  zeal  to  find 
out  the  Indian  in  his  solitudes,  and  preach  to  him  the  ever-blessed 
Gospel.  Ever  on  the  look-out  for  improvements  to  aid  him  in 
more  rapid  transit  through  the  country,  Mr.  Evans  constructed 
a  canoe  out  of  slieet  tin.  This  the  Indians  called  the  "  Island  of 
light,"  on  account  of  its  flashing  back  the  sun's  rays  as  it  glided 
along  propelled  by  the  strong  paddles  in  the  hands  of  the  well- 


140  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

trained  crew.  With  them  they  carried  in  this  novel  craft  soldei 
and  soldering-iron,  and  when  they  had  the  misfortune  to  run 
upon  a  rock  they  went  ashore  and  quickly  repaired  the  injured 
place. 

Mr.  Evans  had  been  for  years  a  Minister  and  Missionary  in 
the  Canadian  Methodist  Church.  With  the  Rev.  William  Case 
he  had  been  very  successfully  employed  among  the  Indians  in 
the  Province  of  Ontario.  When  the  English  Wesleyan  Society 
decided  to  begin  work  among  the  neglected  tribes  in  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Territories,  the  Rev.  James  Evans  was  the  man  appointed 
to  be  the  leader  of  the  devoted  band.  In  order  to  reach  Norway 
House,  which  was  to  be  his  first  principal  Mission,  his  household 
effects  had  to  be  shipped  from  Toronto  to  England,  and  thence 
reshipped  to  York  Factory  on  the  Hudson  Bay.  From  this  place 
they  had  to  be  taken  up  by  boats  to  Norway  House  in  the  interior, 
a  distance  of  five  hundred  miles.  Seventy  times  had  they  to  be 
lifted  out  of  these  inland  boats  and  carried  along  the  portages 
around  falls  and  cataracts  ere  they  reached  their  destination. 

Mr.  Evans  himself  went  by  boat  from  Toronto.  The  trip  from 
Thunder  Bay  in  Lake  Superior  to  Norway  House  was  performed 
in  a  birch  bark  canoe.  Hundreds  of  Indians  listened  to  his 
burning  messages,  and  great  good  was  done  by  him  and  his 
faithful  companions  in  arms,  among  them  being  the  heroic  Mr. 
Barnley,  and  Mr.  Rundle,  of  the  English  Wesleyan  Church. 

The  great  work  of  Mr.  Evans'  life,  and  that  with  which  his 
name  will  be  ever  associated,  was  undoubtedly  the  invention  and 
perfecting  of  what  is  now  so  widely  known  as  the  Cree  Syllabic 
Characters.  What  first  led  him  to  this  invention  was  the 
difficulty  he  and  others  had  in  teaching  the  Indians  to  read  in 
the  ordinary  way.  They  are  hunters,  and  so  are  very  much  on 
the  move,  like  the  animals  they  seek.  To-day  their  tents  are 
pitched  where  there  is  good  fishing,  and  perhaps  in  two  weeks 
they  are  far  away  in  the  deep  forests,  where  roam  the  reindeer, 
or  on  the  banks  of  streams  where  the  beavers  build  their  wonderful 
dam«  and  curious  homes.  The  constant  thought  in  this  master 
Missionary's  mind  was,  "  Can  I  possibly  devise  a  plan  by  which 
these  wandering  people  can  learn  to  read  more  easily?  " 


CREE  SYLLABIC  CHARACTERS.  141 

The  principle  of  the  characters  which  he  adopted  is  phonetic. 
There  are  no  silent  letters.  Each  character  represents  a  syllable ; 
hence  no  spelling  is  required.  As  soon  as  the  alphabet  is 
mastered,  and  a  few  additional  secondary  signs,  some  of  which 
represent  consonants,  and  some  aspirates,  and  some  partially 
change  the  sound  of  the  main  character,  the  Indian  student,  be 
he  a  man  or  woman  of  eighty,  or  a  child  of  six  years,  can  commence 
at  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  and  read  on,  slowly  of  course  at 
first,  but  in  a  few  days  with  surprising  ease  and  accuracy. 

Many  were  Mr.  Evans'  difficulties  in  perfecting  this  invention 
and  putting  it  in  practical  use,  even  after  he  had  got  the  scheme 
clear  and  distinct  in  his  own  mind.  He  was  hundreds  of  miles 
away  from  civilisation.  Yery  little  indeed  had  he  with  which  to 
work.  Yet  with  him  there  was  no  such  word  as  failure.  Obtain- 
ing, as  a  great  favour,  the  thin  sheets  of  lead  that  were  around 
the  tea-chests  of  the  fur  traders,  he  melted  these  down  into  little 
bars,  and  from  them  cut  out  his  first  types.  His  ink  was  made 
out  of  the  soot  of  the  chimneys,  and  his  first  paper  was  birch 
bark.  After  a  good  deal  of  effort,  and  the  exercise  of  much 
ingenuity,  he  made  a  press,  and  then  the  work  began. 

Great  indeed  was  the  amazement  and  delight  of  the  Indians. 
The  fact  that  the  bark  could  "  talk  "  was  to  them  most  wonderful. 
Portions  of  the  Gospels  were  first  printed,  and  then  some  of  the 
beautiful  hymns.  The  story  of  this  invention  reached  the 
Wesleyan  home  Society.  Generous  help  was  afforded.  A  good 
supply  of  these  types  was  cast  in  London,  and,  with  a  good  press 
and  all  the  essential  requisites,  including  a  large  quantity  of 
paper,  was  sent  out  to  that  Mission,  and  for  years  it  was  the 
great  point  from  which  considerable  portions  of  the  Word  of  God 
were  scattered  among  the  wandering  tribes,  conferring  unnumbered 
blessings  upon  them.  In  later  years  the  noble  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  has  taken  charge  of  the  work ;  and  now,  thanks  to 
their  generosity,  the  Indians  have  the  blessed  Word  scattered 
among  them,  and  thousands  can  read  its  glorious  truths. 

All  the  Churches  having  Missions  in  that  great  land  have 
availed  themselves,  more  or  less,  of  Mr.  Evans*  invention.  To 
suit  other  tribes  speaking  different  languages,  the  characters 


142  £Y  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

have  been  modified  or  have  had  additions  to  them,  to  correspond 
with  sounds  in  those  languages  which  were  not  in  the  Oree. 
Even  in  Greenland  the  Moravian  Missionaries  are  now  using 
Evans'  Syllabic  Characters  with  great  success  among  the 
Esquimaux. 

When  Lord  Dufferin  was  Governor-General  of  the  Dominion 
of  Canada,  hearing  that  a  couple  of  Missionaries  from  the  Indian 
tribes  were  in  Ottawa,  where  he  resided,  he  sent  a  courteous 
request  for  us  to  call  upon  him.  With  two  or  three  friends, 
Mr.  Crosby,  our  successful  and  energetic  Missionary  from  British 
Columbia,  and  I,  obeyed  the  summons. 

The  interview  was  a  very  pleasant  and  profitable  one.  Lord 
Dufferin  questioned  Mr.  Crosby  about  British  Columbia  and  his 
work,  and  was  pleased  to  hear  of  his  great  success.  After  a 
bright  and  earnest  conversation  with  me  in  reference  to  the 
Indians  of  the  North- West  Territories,  in  which  his  Excellency 
expressed  his  solicitude  for  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  the 
aboriginal  tribes  of  red  men,  he  made  some  inquiries  in  reference 
to  missionary  work  among  them,  and  seemed  much  pleased  with 
the  answers  I  was  able  to  give  In  mentioning  the  help  I  had 
in  my  work,  I  showed  him  my  Cree  Indian  Testament  printed  in 
Evans'  Syllabic  Characters,  and  explained  the  invention  to  him. 
At  once  his  curiosity  was  excited,  and,  jumping  up,  he  hurried 
off  for  pen  and  ink,  and  got  me  to  write  out  the  whole  alphabet 
for  him ;  and  then,  with  that  glee  and  vivacity  for  which  his 
lordship  was  so  noted,  he  constituted  me  his  teacher,  and 
commenced  at  once  to  master  them. 

As  their  simplicity,  and  yet  wonderful  adaptation  for  their 
designed  work,  became  evident  to  him — for  in  a  short  time  he 
was  able  to  read  a  portion  of  the  Lord's  Prayer — Lord  Dufferin 
was  much  excited,  and,  getting  up  from  his  chair  and  holding  up 
the  Testament  in  his  hand,  exclaimed,  "  Why,  Mr.  Young,  what 
a  blessing  to  humanity  the  man  was  who  invented  that  alphabet !  " 
Then  he  added,  "  I  profess  to  be  a  kind  of  a  literary  man  myself, 
and  try  to  keep  posted  up  in  my  reading  of  what  is  going  on,  but 
I  never  heard  of  this  before.  The  fact  is,  the  nation  has  given 
many  a  man  a  title,  and  a  pension,  and  then  a  resting-place  and 


INTERVIEW    WITH  LORD  DUFFERIN  143 

a  monument  in  Westminster  Abbey,  who  never  did  half  so  much 
for  his  fellow-creatures." 

Then  again  he  asked,  "  Who  did  you  say  was  the  author  or 
inventor  of  these  characters  ? " 

"  The  Rev.  James  Evans,"  I  replied. 

"  Well,  why  is  it  I  never  heard  of  him  before,  I  wonder  ?  " 

My  reply  was,  "  My  lord,  perhaps  the  reason  why  you  never 
heard  of  him  before  was  because  he  was  a  humble,  modest 
Methodist  preacher." 

With  a  laugh  he  replied,  "  That  may  have  been  it,"  and  then 
the  conversation  changed. 

Mr.  Evans  was  ever  anxious  that  the  Indian  converts  should 
at  once  be  made  to  understand  all  the  duties  and  responsibilities 
of  the  new  life  on  which  they  were  entering.  He  was  a  fearless 
man,  and  boldly  declared  unto  them  the  whole  counsel  of  God. 
Knowing  the  blighting,  destroying  influences  of  the  "fire  water" 
upon  the  poor  Indian  race,  he  made  the  Church  a  total  abstinence 
society,  and,  as  all  missionaries  should,  he  set  them  the  example 
of  his  own  life.  Then,  as  regards  the  keeping  of  the  Sabbath,  he 
took  his  stand  on  the  Word  of  God,  and  preached  the  absolute 
necessity  of  the  one  day's  rest  in  seven.  In  after  years  we  saw 
the  good  results  of  the  scriptural  lessons  which  he  and  his  worthy 
successors  taught  in  reference  to  the  holy  day. 

Many  and  severe  were  the  trials,  and  mysterious  some  of  the 
persecutions,  which  this  glorious  man  had  to  bear.  Because  of 
his  unswerving  loyalty  to  truth,  and  his  conscientious  and  fearless 
teaching  of  all  the  commandments  of  God's  Word,  some  in  high 
authority,  who  at  first  were  supposed  to  be  friendly,  turned 
against  him,  and  became  his  unprincipled  foes.  The  trouble 
first  seemed  to  begin  when  Mr.  Evans  taught  the  Indians  to 
"  Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy."  At  his  request, 
they,  when  hunting  or  fishing  or  tripping  in  the  months  of  open 
water,  rested  on  the  Lord's  day.  Short-sighted  employers,  un- 
conscious of  the  fact,  so  often  demonstrated,  that  they  who  rest 
the  one  day  in  seven  can  do  more  work  in  the  other  six,  opposed 
this  teaching,  and,  when  they  could  not  stop  it,  assailed  the 
Missionary  in  a  way  that  must  have  caused  a  jubilee  in  helL  1 


144  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

shall  not  go  into  particulars.  Most  of  the  principal  actors  are  in 
the  presence  of  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth.  He  Who  suffered  for 
a  time  the  name  of  this  devoted  servant  of  His  to  be  so  shamefully 
clouded  has  cleared  all  the  mists  away ;  and  like  the  silver 
refined  by  the  furnace,  so  has  it  been  in  this  case. 

But  persecutions,  and  even  these  bitter  assaults  upon  his 
character,  could  not  turn  him  from  the  most  intense  activity  in 
his  blessed  life-work.  Like  an  Apostle  Paul  in  primitive  times, 
or  like  a  Coke  or  Asbury  in  the  early  years  of  this  century,  so 
travelled  James  Evans.  When  we  say  he  travelled  thousands 
of  miles  each  year  on  his  almost  semi-continental  journeys,  we 
must  remember  that  these  were  not  performed  by  coach  or  rail- 
road, or  even  with  horse  and  carriage,  or  in  the  saddle  or  sailing 
vessel,  but  by  canoe  and  dog-train.  How  much  of  hardship 
and  suffering  that  means,  we  are  thankful  buo  few  of  our  readers 
will  ever  know.  There  are  a  few  of  us  who  do  know  something 
of  these  things,  and  this  fellowship  of  his  suffering  knits  our 
hearts  in  loving  memory  to  him  who  excelled  us  all,  and  the 
fragrance  of  whose  name  and  unselfish  devotion  to  his  work  met 
us  almost  everywhere,  although  years  had  passed  away  since 
James  Evans  had  entered  into  his  rest.  "  He  being  dead  yet 
speaketh."  To  write  about  him  and  his  work  is  a  labour  of  love. 
Would  that  the  pen  of  some  ready  writer  might  give  us  a 
biography  of  this  Missionary  of  such  versatility  of  gifts,  and  such 
marvellous  success  in  his  work  ! 

Koom  only  have  I  here,  in  addition  to  what  has  already  been 
written,  to  give  some  account  of  the  sad  event  of  his  life,  the 
accidental  shooting  of  his  interpreter,  Joseph  Hasselton,  and  the 
after  consequences. 

Word  reached  Mr.  Evans  one  year,  that  the  priests  were  en- 
deavouring to  crowd  up  into  the  Athabasca  and  Mackenzie  River 
country,  and  get  a  foothold  among  some  very  interesting  Indians 
whom  Mr.  Evans  had  visited  and  found  very  anxious  for  the 
truth.  Desirous  that  they  should  not  be  led  away  from  the 
simplicity  of  the  Gospel,  he  felt  that  the  best  plan  was  for  him 
to  hurry  up  by  light  canoe  and  get  into  that  country  and 
among  his  Indians  before  the  priests  arrived.  They  had  gone 


THE  INTERPRETERS  TRAGIC  DEATH.  145 

the  usual  route  up  the  Saskatchewan,  and  from  thence  were  to 
go  over  the  height  of  land,  and  then  by  boat  down  the  streams 
which  from  those  regions  run  towards  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

Mr.  Evans'  plan  was  to  take  what  is  called  "  the  back  route," 
that  was,  to  go  partly  down  the  Nelson  River,  and  then,  turning 
westward  through  an  almost  endless  succession  of  lakes  and 
rivers  and  portages,  arrive  before  the  other  parties,  although 
several  weeks  of  severest  toil  would  be  passed  in  making  the  long 
journey.  With  his  beloved  interpreter,  who  was  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  Indians  of  his  day,  a  man  who  could  talk  almost 
every  Indian  language  spoken  by  the  natives  of  the  land,  and, 
what  was  better,  a  devoted  Christian,  full  of  zeal  and  enthusiasm 
for  the  work,  and  with  another  reliable  native  from  whom  I 
received  my  information  as  to  what  occurred,  the  long  journey 
was  commenced.  For  several  days  they  made  good  progress,  and 
were  rejoicing  at  the  prospect  of  success.  One  morning,  very 
early,  while  they  were  paddling  along  in  the  great  Nelson  Biver, 
Hasselton,  the  interpreter,  who  was  in  the  front  of  the  canoe, 
said,  "I  see  some  ducks  in  those  reeds  near  the  shore.  Hand 
me  the  gun."  In  these  small  canoes  the  guns  are  generally 
kept  in  the  stern  with  the  muzzles  pointing  back,  so  as  to  prevent 
accidents.  The  man  who  was  in  the  stern  quickly  picked  up 
the  gun,  and  foolishly  drew  back  the  trigger.  With  the  muzzle 
pointing  forward  he  passed  the  gun  to  Mr.  Evans,  who  did  not 
turn  his  head,  as  he  was  earnestly  looking  if  he  also  could  see 
the  ducks.  As  Mr.  Evans  took  the  gun  passed  to  him  he  un- 
fortunately let  the  trigger,  which  had  no  guard  around  it,  strike 
against  the  thaft  of  the  canoe.  Instantly  it  went  off,  and  the 
contents  were  discharged  into  the  head  of  the  poor  man  in  front. 
He  turned  his  dying  eyes  upon  Mr.  Evans,  and  then  fell  over,  a 
corpse.  It  was  an  awful  accident,  and  doubly  painful  on  account 
of  the  unfortunate  surroundings.  Here  the  two  survivors  were, 
about  two  hundred  miles  from  any  habitation.  They  could  not 
take  the  body  back  with  them.  For  days  they  would  meet  none 
to  whom  they  could  tell  their  story.  They  went  ashore,  and,  when 
their  first  paroxysm  of  grief  was  over,  they  had  to  dig,  as  best 
they  could,  a  grave  in  the  wilderness,  and  there  bury  their  dead. 

10 


14«  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

They  turned  their  faces  homeward,  and  very  sorrowful  indeed 
was  the  journey.  Great  was  the  grief  at  the  village,  and  greater 
still  the  consternation  when  it  was  discovered  what  Mr.  Evans 
had  resolved  to  do.  His  interpreter  was  the  only  Christian 
among  his  relatives.  The  rest  of  them  were  wild  pagans  with 
bad  records.  Life  for  life  was  their  motto,  and  many  had  been 
their  deeds  of  cruelty  and  bloodshed  in  seeking  that  revenge 
which  occupies  so  large  a  place  in  the  savage  Indian's  heart. 
They  lived  several  hundred  miles  away,  and  Mr.  Evans  resolved 
to  go  and  surrender  himself  to  them,  tell  them  what  he  had  done, 
and  take  all  the  consequences.  Many  friends,  knowing  how 
quick  the  Indian  is  to  act  when  aroused  by  the  news  of  the  death 
of  a  relative — for  often  before  he  hears  all  the  circumstances 
does  he  strike  the  fatal  blow — urged  him  not  to  go  himself,  but 
to  send  a  mediator. 

To  this  suggestion  he  turned  a  deaf  ear,  and,  having  made  his 
will  and  left  all  instructions  as  to  the  work  if  he  should  never 
return,  and  bidden  farewell  to  his  stricken  family,  who  never 
expected  to  see  him  alive  again,  he  started  off  on  his  strange 
and  perilous  journey. 

Reaching  the  distant  village,  he  walked  into  the  tent  of  the 
parents  of  his  interpreter,  and  told  them  that  his  heart  was 
broken,  and  why.  Angry  words  were  uttered,  and  tomahawks 
and  guns  were  freely  handled,  while  he  described  the  tragic  scene. 
Feeling  so  utterly  miserable  that  he  little  cared  whether  they 
killed  him  or  let  him  live,  there  he  sat  down  on  the  ground  in 
their  midst,  and  awaited  their  decision.  Some  of  the  hot-headed 
spirits  were  for  killing  him  at  once ;  but  wiser  counsels  prevailed, 
and  it  was  decided  that  he  must  be  adopted  into  the  family  from 
which  he  had  shot  the  son,  and  be  all  to  them,  as  far  as  possible, 
that  their  son  had  been.  This  had  been  a  good  deal.  Becoming 
a  Christian  had  made  him  kind  and  loving,  and  so  all  that  he 
could  spare  of  his  wages,  earned  while  interpreting  for  Mr.  Evans, 
had  been  faithfully  sent  to  his  parents.  The  ceremony  of  adop- 
tion lasted  several  days.  Mr.  Evans  assumed  as  his  Indian  name 
vAat  of  this  family,  and  a  good  son  indeed  they  found  in  him. 

When  he  left  to  return  to  his  Mission  they  kissed  him,  and 


JAMES  EVANS'    CLOSING   TEARS.  147 

acted  towards  him  with  as  much  affection  as  such  people  can 
show.  Many  were  the  gifts  which  were  sent  them  by  their 
adopted  son,  who  took  good  care  of  them  as  long  as  he  lived. 

But  while  this  difficulty  was  thus  tided  over,  the  memory  of  it 
never  faded  away  from  Mr.  Evans.  He  was  never  the  same 
man  after.  Yet  he  did  not  allow  it  to  deter  him  from  the  most 
vigorous  prosecution  of  his  work  :  indeed,  it  seemed  to  his  people 
as  though  he  tried  to  bury  his  sorrow  in  incessant  toil,  and  labours 
so  abundant,  that  but  few  even  of  the  Indians  "  in  journeyings 
oft "  could  equal  him. 

To  aid  the  further  prosecution  of  his  labours,  and  to  excite 
greater  interest  in  the  well-being  of  the  Red  Indians  of  British 
North  America,  Mr.  Evans  went  to  England  to  speak  about  his 
work  and  its  needs.  His  story  of  marvellous  incidents  and  varied 
experiences  in  this  land  of  which  so  little  was  known,  produced 
a  deep  impression,  and  great  crowds  came  out  to  hear  him,  and 
insisted  on  his  continuing  at  great  length  his  wonderful  descrip- 
tions of  travelling  by  canoe  and  dog-train,  and  the  longing  desire 
there  was  in  the  hearts  of  the  Indians  for  the  Gospel. 

On  November  23rd,  1846,  after  having  spoken  at  Keelby  in 
Lincolnshire,  he  returned  with  his  wife,  who  was  in  every  respect 
a  devoted  helpmate  for  such  a  work,  to  the  home  of  the  gentleman 
and  lady  with  whom  they  were  stopping.  While  chatting  on 
various  subjects,  Mrs.  Evans  turned  to  her  husband,  who  was  com- 
fortably seated  in  a  large  arm-chair,  and  said,  "  My  dear,  I  have 
had  such  a  strange  presentiment — that  we  shall  never  see  Norway 
House  and  our  faithful  Indians  again."  He  turned  to  her  and 
said,  with  something  of  his  old  enthusiasm,  "  Why  should  that 
thought  trouble  you,  my  dear?  Heaven  is  just  as  near  from 
England  as  from  America." 

The  two  ladies  said,  "  Good  night ! "  and  retired,  leaving  Mr. 
Evans  and  the  gentleman  of  the  house  to  chat  together  a  little 
longer.  Shortly  after  the  gentleman  said  something  to  Mr. 
Evans,  and,  receiving  no  answer,  he  turned  from  the  fire  and 
looked  at  him.  At  first  he  thought  he  had  fallen  asleep,  but  this 
was  only  for  an  instant.  Springing  up  and  going  to  him,  he 
found  that  the  immortal  spirit  had  so  quietly  and  gently  flitted 


148 


BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 


away,  that  there  had  not  been  the  slightest  sob  or  cry.  The  noble 
Indian  Missionary  was  dead.  The  eloquent  tongue  was  hushed 
for  ever.  For  his  return  hundreds  of  anxious  weeping  Indians 

in  those  northern 
CEBE   SYLLABIC   ALPHABET. 


INITIALS 

SYLLABLES. 

FINALS.        | 

a       e 

o       a 

. 

a 

V       A 

t>      <J 

«  ow 

wa 

V-      A. 

0-     «. 

X  Christ 

pa 

V       A 

>      < 

'P 

ta 

u    n 

D      G 

'  t 

ka 

q     p 

d       b 

xk 

cha 

i    r 

J        I 

"  h 

ma 

n     r 

J       L 

c  m 

na 

~D           0" 

-0           0. 

5  n 

•a 

s     e 

'   •* 

^  8 

ya 

*   * 

*    ^ 

£  r 

The  dot  over  any  syllable  lengthens  the  vowel  sound. 


would  long 
and  wait,  but  wait 
in  vain.  He  had 
been  conveyed  by 
angel  bands  to 
that  innumerable 
company  of  re- 
deemed, blood- 
washed  saints 
around  the  throne 
of  God,  which 
even  then  had 
received  many 
happy  converted 
Indians,  who. 
brought  to  God 
by  his  instru- 
mentality, had 
finished  their 
course  with  joy, 
and  before  him 
had  entered  in 
through  tne  gates 
into  the  city,  and 
were  there  to  wel- 
come him. 

Hundreds,  since 
then,  of  his  spiri- 
tual children 
have  had  the 


"abundant  entrance  ministered  unto"  them,  and  they  have 
joined  him  in  that  rapidly  increasing  throng.  And  although 
many  years  have  passed  away  since  he  preached  to  them 


THE  LORD'S  PRAYER   IN  SYLLABIC. 


149 


THE  LORD'S  PRAYER. 


P'TPr'd*      V 
-3     PA-"D>A-:>; 


his  last  sermon,  at  many  a  camp  fire,  and  in  many  a  wigwam, 
still  linger  old  men,  and  women  too,  whose  eyes  glisten  and 
then  become  bedimmed  with  tears  as  they  think  of  him  who 
so  long  a£o  went  on  before.  But  while  they  weep,  they  also 
rejoice  that  that 
salvation,  which, 
as  the  result  of 
his  preaching, 
they  accepted,  is 
still  their  solace 
and  their  joy, 
and,  clinging  to 
it  and  its  great 
Author,  they  shall 
by -and -by  meet 
their  Missionary 
and  loved  ones 
who  have  finished 
their  course  and 
gained  the  eter- 
nal shores. 

On  the  opposite 
page  are  the  Syl- 
labic Characters, 
as  invented  by  Mr. 
Evans ;  and  on  this 
we  give  the  Lord's 
Prayer  in  Cree,  as 


VAUP^'CL 
A"PX 


CA-A"P>    [>C    <TPX 


Ai_rvVx. 

VbA-S* 
CJA-6-do., 


o-LP) 


S     A.'     Vb 


PPVbLPXx; 


To. 


P)Uo.A-A->, 

printed  in  them.  /^"brVA*^      To. 

Perhaps    the  bpq?     rQ_    bpq.     y-j^ 

following  expla- 
nations will  help 
the  student  who 
may  have  a  wish  to  master  this  wonderful  invention. 

In  the  Alphabet  the  first  line  of  characters,  the  equilateral 
triangle  in  four  positions,  reads  as  follows,  a  e  oo  ah. 

The  addition  of  the  little  dot,  as  seen  in  the  second  line,  adds 


ISO  £Y  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

to  any  character  after  which  it  is  placed  the  sound  of  w.  So 
this  second  line  reads  wa,  we,  woo,  wah. 

The  following  lines  read  thus  :  pa  pe  poo  pah ;  ta  te  too  tah ; 
ka  ke  koo  kah ;  cha  che  choo  chah ;  ma  mee  moo  man ;  na  ne 
noo  nah  ;  sa  se  soo  sah  ;  ya  ye  yoo  yah. 

With  a  little  patience  the  Lord's  Prayer  can  be  read  even 
without  a  teacher. 

I  have  gone  to  a  pagan  band  far  away  in  the  northern  wilder- 
ness, and  after  they  have  become  willing  to  receive  the  truth, 
I  have  commenced  to  teach  them  to  read  the  Word  of  God.  Very 
limited  indeed  were  our  appliances,  for  we  were  hundreds  of 
miles  from  the  nearest  school  house.  But  from  the  camp-fire, 
where  we  had  cooked  our  bear's  meat  or  beaver,  I  would  take  a 
burnt  stick,  and  with  it  make  these  Syllabic  Characters  on  the 
side  of  a  rock,  and  then  patiently  repeat  them  over  and  over 
again  with  my  school  of  often  three  generations  of  Indians 
together,  until  they  had  some  idea  of  them.  Then  I  would  give 
them  the  copies  of  the  Bible  I  had  brought,  and  at  the  first  verse 
of  Genesis  we  would  begin.  It  paid  for  the  hardships  of  the  trip 
a  thousandfold  to  see  the  looks  of  joy  and  delight  on  their  faces 
as  they  themselves  were  able  to  read  that  wonderful  verse. 


CHAPTEK  XIII. 

SOWING  AND  REAPING — BEAUTIFUL  INCIDENT — '*  HELP  ME  TO  BE  A 
CHRISTIAN  1  " — THIRTY  YEARS  BETWEEN  THE  SOWING  AND  THE  REAP- 
ING— SORROWING,  YET  STUBBORN,  INDIANS  INDUCED  TO  YIELD  BY 
THB  EXPRESSION,  "  I  KNOW  WHERE  YOUR  CHILDREN  ARE  1 " 


HILE  in  our  every-day  missionary 
life  there  were  dark  hours,  and 
times  when  our  faith  was  severely 
tried,  there  was,  on  the  other  hand, 
much  to  encourage  us  to  persevere 
in  the  blessed  work  among  these 
Cree  Indians. 

An  incident  that  oc- 
curred to  us  brought 
up  very  forcibly  to  our 
minds  the  couplet : 

"  Whate'er  may  die  and  be 

forgot, 

Work  done    for    God,  it 
dieth  not." 

I  was  sitting,  one  pleasant  day  in  June,  in  my  study  at  Norway 
House,  absorbed  in  my  work,  when  I  was  startled  by  a  loud 
"  Ahem  1 "  behind  me.  I  quickly  sprang  up,  and,  turning  round, 


152  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

discovered  that  the  man  who  had  thus  suddenly  interrupted  me 
in  my  thoughts  was  a  big,  stalwart  Indian.  He  had  come  into 
the  room  in  that  catlike  way  in  which  nearly  all  of  the  Indians 
move.  Their  moccasined  feet  make  no  sound,  and  so  it  is  quite 
possible  for  even  scores  of  them  to  come  into  the  house  unheard. 
Then,  as  Indians  have  a  great  dislike  to  knocking,  they  generally 
omit  it  altogether,  and  unceremoniously  enter,  as  this  man  had 
done,  and  as  quietly  as  possible. 

My  first  glance  at  him  told  me  that  he  was  an  entire  stranger, 
although  I  had  by  this  time  become  acquainted  with  some 
hundreds  of  the  natives.  I  shook  hands  with  him  and  said  a  few 
commonplace  things  to  him,  to  which  I  thought  he  paid  but  little 
heed. 

I  pointed  to  a  chair,  and  asked  him  to  be  seated ;  but,  instead 
of  doing  so,  he  came  up  close  to  me  and  said  with  great  earnest- 
ness :  "  Missionary,  will  you  help  me  to  be  a  Christian  1 " 

Surprised  and  pleased  by  this  abrupt  question,  I  replied, 
"  Certainly  I  will ;  that  is  my  business  here." 

"  Will  you  help  my  wife  and  children  also  to  become  Christians  ? " 
he  added  with  equal  emphasis. 

"  Of  course  I  will,"  I  answered  again.  "  It  was  for  just  such 
work  as  that  my  good  wife  and  I  came  from  our  far-away  home 
to  live  in  this  land." 

Naturally  I  had  already  become  very  much  interested  in  this 
big,  bronzed  Indian;  and  so  I  said  to  him,  " Tell  me  who  you  are, 
and  from  what  place  you  have  come." 

I  made  him  sit  down  before  me,  and  he  told  me  the  following 
remarkable  story.  I  wish  I  could  put  into  the  narrative  his 
pathos  and  his  dramatic  action.  He  did  not  keep  his  seat  very 
long  after  he  began  talking,  but  moved  around,  and  at  times  was 
very  much  excited.  He  said, — 

"  Many  years  ago,  when  I  was  a  little  boy,  I  was  kindly  cared 
for  by  the  first  Missionary,  Mr.  Evans.  I  was  a  poor  orphan. 
My  father  and  mother  had  died,  leaving  none  to  care  for  me; 
so  the  good  Missionary  took  me  to  his  own  house  and  was  very 
kind  to  me.  'Tis  true  I  had  some  relatives,  but  they  were  not 
Christians,  and  so  there  was  not  much  love  in  their  hearts  towards 


"HELP  ME  TO  BE  A    CHRISTIAN."  163 

a  poor  orphan  boy.  So  Mr.  Evans  took  me  to  his  house,  and  was 
very  kind  to  me.  He  gave  me  clothes  and  food,  and  a  home. 
He  taught  me  to  read  the  new  letters  he  had  made  for  our  people, 
and  told  me  much  about  the  Great  Spirit  and  His  Son  Jesus. 
He  taught  me  and  other  children  to  pray  to  God,  and  he  often 
talked  to  us  about  Him,  and  how  kind  and  good  He  was.  He 
kept  me  with  him  two  or  three  years,  and  I  was  very  well  off 
indeed  in  having  such  a  home  and  such  a  friend,  if  I  had  only 
known  it. 

"  One  summer,  among  the  many  Indians  who  came  to  trade 
their  furs  at  the  Company's  store,  was  one  family  who  lived  very 
far  away.  They  seemed  to  take  a  liking  to  me,  and  often  would 
talk  to  me.  They  had  no  little  boy,  they  said,  in  their  wigwam, 
and  they  told  me  a  lot  of  foolish  stuff  about  how  much  happier  I 
would  be,  if  I  lived  with  them,  than  I  was  here,  where  I,  had  to 
obey  the  white  man.  Like  the  foolish  child  that  I  was,  I  listened 
to  this  nonsense,  and  one  night,  when  they  had  got  everything 
ready  to  start,  I  slipped  quietly  out  of  the  house  and  joined  them. 
We  paddled  hard  most  of  the  night,  for  we  felt  that  we  had  done 
wrong,  and  did  not  know  but  we  should  be  followed. 

"  After  travelling  many  days  we  reached  their  hunting 
grounds  and  wigwams.  I  did  not  find  it  as  pleasant  as  they 
had  told  me  it  would  be.  Often  they  were  very  cruel  to  me, 
and  sometimes  we  did  not  have  much  to  eat.  But  I  dared  not 
run  away,  for  there  was  no  place  to  which  I  could  go,  except 
to  other  wicked  Indians ;  and  they  would  only  make  things 
worse.  They  were  all  very  bad  Indians,  and  very  much  afraid 
of  the  medicine  men.  All  the  worship  they  did  was  to  the  bad 
spirit.  They  were  afraid  of  him,  and  so  they  worshipped  him, 
so  that  he  might  not  do  them  much  harm.  I  became  as  bad 
as  any  of  them.  I  tried  to  forget  all  that  the  good  Missionary 
had  told  me.  I  tried  to  wipe  all  his  teachings  and  prayers  from 
my  memory.  All  he  had  told  me  about  the  Good  Spirit  and  His 
Son  I  tried  to  forget. 

"  I  grew  up  to  be  a  man.  I  had  become  a  wicked  pagan ;  but 
I  was  a  good  hunter,  and  one  of  the  men  sold  me  one  of  his 
daughters  to  be  my  wife.  We  have  quite  a  family.  Because 


154  BY  CANOE  AND   DOG-TRAIN. 

I  had  seen,  when  I  was  a  little  boy,  how  Christian  Indian  men 
treat  the  women  better  than  the  pagan  Indians  treat  theirs, 
I  treated  my  wife  and  children  well.  I  was  never  cruel  to  them. 
I  love  my  wife  and  children. 

"  Last  winter,  you  remember,  the  snow  was  very  deep.  I 
had  taken  my  family  and  gone  out  into  the  region  of  deer  and 
other  animals,  and  there  had  made  my  hunting  lodge  for  the 
winter.  There  we  set  our  traps  for  the  fur-bearing  animals. 
We  took  a  good  many  of  the  smaller  animals  that  have  got 
furs,  but  the  larger  ones,  that  are  good  for  food,  were  very  few. 
We  had  a  hard  time,  as  food  was  very  scarce.  I  could  not  find 
any  deer  to  shoot,  and  we  had  come  far  from  the  great  lakes 
and  rivers,  and  so  had  no  fish. 

"  At  length  it  seemed  as  though  we  must  starve.  I  tried 
hard  to  get  something,  but  I  seemed  to  fail  every  time.  Some- 
times, when  I  did  manage  to  get  within  range  of  the  moose  or 
reindeer,  and  I  fired,  my  gun,  which  is  only  a  flintlock,  would 
only  flash  the  powder  in  the  pan,  and  so  the  charge  would  not 
go  off.  The  noise,  however,  had  so  frightened  the  deer  that 
he  had  rushed  away  before  I  could  get  ready  to  fire  again. 

"  At  length  it  got  so  bad  with  us  that  I  became  completely 
discouraged,  and  I  said,  '  I  will  only  try  once  more ;  and  if  I  do 
not  succeed  in  shooting  a  deer,  I  will  shoot  myself.'  So  I  took 
up  my  gun  and  hurried  into  the  forest  away  from  my  half-starved 
family.  I  cautiously  tramped  along  on  my  snowslioes  all  the 
first  day,  and  did  not  see  even  a  track.  I  made  a  little 
camp  and  lay  down  cold  and  hungry.  I  hunted  all  .the  next 
day  and  only  got  a  rabbit.  This  I  ate  in  the  little  camp 
I  made  the  second  night  in  the  snow.  On  the  third  day  I 
hunted  until  about  noon.  Then  feeling  very  weak  and  hungry, 
I  got  so  discouraged  that  I  said,  as  I  sat  down  on  a  log  covered 
with  snow,  *I  will  die  here.  I  am  weak  with  hunger,  I  can 
go  no  further.'  I  was  cross  and  angry,  and  I  said,  as  I  talked 
to  myself,  'No  use  trying  any  more.'  Then  I  loaded  my  gun 
with  a  heavy  charge  of  powder  and  two  bullets,  and,  drawing 
back  the  trigger,  my  plan  was  to  put  the  muzzle  of  the  gun 
against  the  side  of  my  head,  and  then  press  on  the  trigger  with 


THE  GOOD  SPIRIT'S  SUCCESSFUL    CALL.  165 

my  big  toe,  which  you  know  moves  easily  in  the  moccasin.  Just 
as  I  was  getting  ready  thus  to  kill  myself,  something  seemed  to 
speak  to  me,  '  William ! '  I  pushed  the  gun  away,  for  I  was 
frightened.  I  looked  all  around,  but  could  not  see  anybody. 
Then  I  found  that  the  voice  was  in  me,  and  it  began  to  talk  to 
me  out  of  my  heart;  and  as  I  listened  it  seemed  to  say, 
*  William,  do  you  not  remember  what  the  Missionary  told  you 
long  ago  about  the  Great  Spirit?  He  said  He  was  kind  and 
forgiving,  and  that  even  if  we  did  wander  far  away  from  Him, 
if  we  became  sorry  and  would  come  back,  He  would  forgive.  Do 
you  not  remember,  William,  he  said  that  if  we  ever  got  into 
great  trouble,  the  Great  Spirit  was  the  best  Friend  to  Whom 
to  go  to  help  us  out  ?  You  are  in  great  trouble,  William.  Don't 
you  think  you  had  better  come  back  to  Him  ? ' 

"  But  I  trembled  and  hesitated,  for  I  was  ashamed  to"  come. 
I  thought  over  my  life,  how  I  had  run  away  from  the  kind 
Missionary  who  had  taken  me,  a  poor  orphan  boy,  into  his  home, 
and  fed  and  clothed  me,  and  taught  me  so  much  about  the  true 
way.  Then  I  remembered  so  well  how  I  had  tried  to  wipe  out 
from  my  memory  all  I  had  learned  about  the  Great  Spirit  and 
His  Son,  and  the  good  Book.  I  had  denied  to  the  pagan  people 
that  I  knew  anything  about  the  white  man's  religion.  I  had 
been  very  bad,  and  had  got  very  far  away ;  how  could  I  come 
back?  Still  all  the  answer  I  got  was,  'You  had  better  come 
back/ 

"There  I  sat  and  trembled,  and  I  felt  I  was  too  mean  to 
come  back.  But  all  the  answer  I  got  was,  *  It  is  meaner  to  stay 
away,  if  what  the  Missionary  said  is  true.'  While  I  was  hesitat- 
ing what  to  do,  and  all  trembling  in  the-  cold,  I  seemed  to  hear 
my  wife  and  children  in  the  wigwam  far  away  crying  for  food. 
This  decided  me.  So  I  turned  round,  and  kneeled  down  in  the 
snow  by  the  log,  and  began  to  pray.  I  hardly  know  what  I  said, 
but  I  do  remember  I  asked  the  Great  Spirit  to  forgive  the  poor 
Indian  who  had  got  so  far  away  from  Him,  and  had  been  so 
wicked,  and  had  tried  to  wipe  Him  out  of  his  memory.  I  told 
Him  I  was  sorry,  and  wanted  to  do  better;  and  there  in  the 
snow  I  promised,  if  He  would  forgive  and  help  me  in  my  trouble, 


166  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

and  give  something  for  my  wife  and  children  to  eat,  I  would,  just 
as  soon  as  the  snow  and  ice  left  the  rivers  and  lakes,  go  and  find 
the  Missionary,  and  ask  him  to  help  me  to  be  a  Christian. 

"  While  I  prayed  I  felt  better ;  I  seemed  to  feel  in  my  heart 
that  help  was  coming.  I  got  up  from  my  knees,  and  it  seemed 
as  though  that  prayer  had  strengthened  me  like  food.  I  forgot 
I  was  cold  and  hungry.  I  took  up  my  gun  with  a  glad  heart, 
and  away  I  started;  and  I  had  not  gone  far  before  a  large 
reindeer  came  dashing  along.  I  fired  and  killed  him.  I  was 
very  glad.  I  quickly  skinned  him,  and  I  soon  made  a  fire  and 
cooked  some  of  the  meat.  Then  I  pulled  down  a  small  tree,  and 
fastened  part  of  the  meat  into  the  top  of  it,  and  let  it  swing  up 
again,  so  as  to  keep  it  from  the  wolves  and  wolverines.  Then  I 
took  the  rest  on  my  back  and  hurried  home  to  my  hungry  wife 
and  children.  Soon  after  I  went  back  for  the  rest  of  the  venison, 
and  found  it  all  right. 

"  Since  that  hour  we  have  always  had  something.  I  have 
hunted  hard,  and  have  had  success.  None  of  us  have  been 
hungry  since.  The  Great  Spirit  has  been  all  that  the  Missionary 
said  He  would  be  to  us.  He  has  cared  for  us,  and  given  us  all 
that  we  have  needed. 

"  I  have  not  forgotten  my  promise  made  while  kneeling  in  the 
snow  beside  the  log  in  the  woods.  The  snow  has  gone,  and  the 
ice  has  left  the  lakes  and  rivers.  I  have  launched  my  canoe, 
and  have  come  with  my  wife  and  children  to  ask  you  to  help  us 
to  be  Christians." 

We  were  very  much  pleased  to  hear  such  a  wonderful 
experience,  which  was  thus  leading  him  back  to  God ;  and  we 
told  him  so.  When  we  learned  that  all  this  time  he  had  been 
talking  his  wife  and  children  were  patiently  sitting  in  the 
canoe  outside  at  the  shore,  we  hurried  out  with  him  and  brought 
them  into  the  Mission  Housa 

Mrs.  Young,  and  one  or  two  others,  attracted  by  William's 
earnest  words,  had  come  into  my  study,  and  had  heard  most  of 
his  story,  and  of  course  were  also  deeply  interested.  Out  of  our 
scant  supplies  we  gave  the  whole  family  a  good  hearty  meal,  and 
we  both  did  what  we  could  by  words  and  actions  to  make  them 


"  WHERE  ARE  OUR   CHILDREN?"  157 

feel  that  we  were  their  friends,  and  would  do  all  we  could  to  help 
them  to  be  Christians.  We  were  delighted  to  find  that  since 
that  memorable  day  when  at  the  snow-covered  log  in  the  forest 
William  had  bowed  in  prayer,  he  had  been  diligent  in  teaching 
his  family  all  that  he  could  remember  of  the  blessed  truths  of 
the  Gospel.  They  had  gladly  received  it  and  were  eager  for 
more. 

I  called  together  some  of  the  head  men  of  the  village,  and  told 
them  the  story  of  this  family,  and  what  William  had  said  about 
his  early  life.  A  few  of  the  older  people  remembered  the  cir- 
cumstance of  his  adoption  by  Mr.  Evans  after  the  death  of  his 
parents,  whom  they  remembered  well.  Happy  Christians  them- 
selves, and  anxious  that  others  should  enjoy  the  same  blessedness, 
they  rejoiced  at  William's  return,  and  especially  with  such  a 
desire  in  his  heart.  So  they  at  once  gave  the  exile  a  place  among 
themselves,  and  some  needed  help.  Thorough  and  genuine  were 
the  changes  wrought  in  the  hearts  of  that  family  by  Divine  grace, 
and  they  have  remained  firm  and  true.  In  their  house  was  a 
family  altar,  and  from  the  church  services  they  were  never  absent, 
unless  far  off  in  distant  hunting  grounds. 

Various  were  the  arguments  which  the  Good  Spirit  gave  us  to 
use  in  persuading  men  and  women  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  Here 
is  a  beautiful  illustration  : — 

"WHERE  ARE  OUR  CHILDREN?" 

On  the  banks  of  a  wild  river,  about  sixty  miles  from  Beaver 
Lake,  I  visited  a  band  of  pagan  Indians,  who  seemed  determined 
to  resist  every  appeal  or  entreaty  I  could  make  to  induce  them 
to  listen  to  my  words.  They  were  so  dead  and  indifferent  that  I 
was  for  a  time  quite  disheartened.  The  journey  to  reach  them 
had  taken  about  eight  days  from  home  through  the  dreary 
wilderness,  where  we  had  not  met  a  single  human  being.  My 
two  faithful  canoemen  and  I  had  suffered  much  from  the  character 
of  the  route,  and  the  absence  of  game,  which  had  caused  us  more 
than  once  to  wrap  ourselves  up  in  our  blankets  and  lie  down 
supperless  upon  the  granite  rocks  and  try  to  sleep.  The  rain  had 
fallen  upon  us  so  persistently  that  for  days  the  water  had  been 


168  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

dripping  from  us,  and  we  had  longed  for  the  sunshine  that  we 
might  get  dry  again. 

We  had  met  with  some  strange  adventures,  and  I  had  had 
another  opportunity  for  observing  the  intelligence  and  shrewdness 
of  my  men,  and  their  quickness  in  arriving  at  right  conclusions 
from  very  little  data.  Many  think  of  the  Indians  as  savages  and 
uncivilised,  yet  in  some  respects  they  are  highly  educated,  and 
are  gifted  with  a  quickness  of  perception  not  excelled  by  any 
other  people  in  the  world.  We  had  the  following  illustration  of 
it  on  this  trip. 

As  most  of  the  Indians  had  gone  away  in  the  brigades  to  York 
Factory,  to  carry  down  the  furs  and  to  freight  up  the  goods  for 
the  next  winter's  trade,  I  could  not  find  any  canoemen  who  were 
acquainted  with  the  route  to  the  pagan  band  which  I  wished  to 
visit.  The  best  I  could  do  was  to  secure  the  services  of  a  man  as 
a  guide  who  had  only  been  as  far  as  Beaver  Lake.  He  was 
willing  to  go  and  run  the  risk  of  finding  the  Indian  band,  if  possible, 
although  so  far  beyond  the  most  northern  point  he  had  ever  gone 
before.  As  I  could  do  no  better  I  hired  him  and  another  Indian, 
and  away  we  went. 

After  several  days  of  hard  work — for  the  portages  around  the 
falls  and  rapids  were  many,  and  several  times  we  had  to  wade 
through  muskegs  or  morasses  up  to  our  knees  for  miles  together, 
carrying  all  our  load  on  our  heads  or  backs — we  at  length 
reached  Beaver  Lake.  Here  we  camped  for  the  night  and  talked 
over  our  future  movements.  We  had  come  two  hundred  and 
forty  miles  through  these  northern  wilds,  and  yet  had  about  sixty 
miles  to  go  ere  we  expected  to  see  human  beings,  and  were  all 
absolutely  ignorant  of  the  direction  in  which  to  go. 

We  spent  the  night  on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  and  slept  comfort- 
ably on  the  smooth  rocks.  Early  the  next  morning  we  began  to 
look  out  for  signs  to  guide  us  on  our  way.  There  were  several 
high  hills  in  the  vicinity,  and  it  was  decided  that  we  should  each 
ascend  one  of  these,  and  see  if  from  these  elevated  positions  the 
curling  smoke  from  some  distant  Indian  camp-fire,  or  other  signs 
of  human  beings,  could  be  observed. 

Seizing  my  rifle,  I  started  off  to  ascend  the  high  hill  which  had 


INDIANS'  MARVELLOUS  INTELLIGENCE.  159 

been  assigned  me,  while  my  Indians  went  off  in  other  directions. 
This  hill  was  perhaps  half  a  mile  from  our  camp-fire,  and  I  was 
soon  at  its  foot,  ready  to  push  my  way  up  through  the  tangled 
underbrush  that  grew  so  densely  on  its  sides.  To  my  surprise 
I  came  almost  suddenly  upon  a  creek  of  rare  crystal  beauty,  on 
the  banks  of  which  were  many  impressions  of  hoofs,  large  and 
small,  as  though  a  herd  of  cattle  had  there  been  drinking. 
Thoughtlessly,  for  I  seemed  to  have  forgotten  where  we  were,  I 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  as  the  herd  of  cattle  had  there 
quenched  their  thirst,  they  and  their  owner  must  be  near.  So  I 
hurried  back  to  the  camp,  and  signalled  to  the  men  to  return, 
and  told  them  what  I  had  seen.  There  was  an  amused  look  on 
their  faces,  but  they  were  very  polite  and  courteous  men,  and  so 
they  accompanied  me  to  the  creek,  where,  with  a  good  deal  of 
pride,  I  pointed  out  to  them  the  footprints  of  cattle,  and  stated 
that  I  thought  that  they  and  their  owners  could  not  be  far  off. 
They  listened  to  me  patiently,  and  then  made  me  feel  extremely 
foolish  by  uttering  the  word  "  Moose."  I  had  mistaken  the 
footprints  of  a  herd  of  moose  for  a  drove  of  cattle,  much  to  their 
quiet  amusement. 

We  looked  around  for  a  time,  and,  getting  no  clue,  we 
embarked  in  our  canoe,  and  started  to  explore  the  different 
streams  that  flowed  into  or  out  of  this  picturesque  lake.  After 
several  hours  of  unsuccessful  work  we  entered  into  the  mouth  of 
quite  a  fine  river,  and  began  paddling  up  it,  keeping  close  to  one 
of  its  sandy  shores.  Suddenly  one  of  my  Indians  sprang  up  in 
the  canoe,  and  began  carefully  examining  some  small  tracks  on 
the  shore.  A  few  hasty  words  were  uttered  by  the  men,  and 
then  we  landed. 

They  closely  inspected  these  little  footprints,  and  then  ex- 
claimed, "  We  have  got  it  now,  Missionary ;  we  can  take  you  soon 
to  the  Indians  ! " 

"  What  have  you  discovered  ?  "  I  said.  "  I  see  nothing  to  tell 
me  where  the  Indians  are." 

"  We  see  it  very  plain,"  was  the  reply.  "  You  sent  word  that 
you  were  coming  to  meet  them  this  moon.  They  have  been 
scattered  hunting,  but  are  gathering  at  the  place  appointed,  and 


160  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

a  canoe  of  them  went  up  this  river  yesterday,  and  the  dog  ran 
along  the  shore,  and  these  are  his  tracks." 

I  examined  these  impressions  in  the  sand,  and  said,  "  The 
country  is  full  of  wild  animals;  these  may  be  the  tracks  of  a 
wolf  or  wolverine  or  some  other  beast." 

They  only  laughed  at  me,  and  said,  "We  can  see  a  great  differ- 
ence between  these  tracks  and  those  made  by  the  wild  animals." 

Our  canoe  was  soon  afloat  again,  and,  using  our  paddles 
vigorously,  we  sped  rapidly  along  the  river.  With  no  other  clue 
than  those  little  footprints  in  the  sand  my  men  confidently 
pushed  along.  After  paddling  for  about  twenty  miles  we  came 
to  the  camp-fire,  still  smouldering,  where  the  Indians  had  slept 
the  night  before.  Here  we  cooked  our  dinner,  and  then  hurried 
on,  still  guided  by  the  little  tracks  along  the  shore.  Towards 
evening  we  reached  the  encampment,  just  as  my  canoemen  had 
intimated  we  should. 

The  welcome  we  received  was  not  very  cordial.  The  Indians 
were  soured  and  saddened  by  having  lost  many  of  their  number, 
principally  children,  by  scarlet  fever,  which  for  the  first  time  had 
visited  their  country,  and  which  had  been  undoubtedly  brought 
into  their  land  by  some  free-traders  the  year  before.  With  the 
exception  of  an  old  conjurer  or  two,  none  openly  opposed  me,  but 
the  sullen  apathy  of  the  people  made  it  very  discouraging  work  to 
try  to  preach  or  teach.  However,  we  did  the  best  we  could,  and 
were  resolved  that  having  come  so  far,  and  suffered  so  many 
hardships  to  reach  them,  we  would  faithfully  deliver  the  message, 
and  leave  the  results  to  Him  Who  had  permitted  us* to  be  the 
first  who  had  ever  visited  that  land  to  tell  the  story  of  redeeming 
love. 

One  cold,  rainy  day  a  large  number  of  us  were  crowded  into  the 
largest  wigwam  for  a  talk  about  the  truths  in  the  great  Book. 
My  two  faithful  Christian  companions  aided  me  all  they  could 
by  giving  personal  testimony  to  the  blessedness  of  this  great 
salvation.  But  all  seemed  in  vain.  There  the  people  sat  and 
emoked  in  sullen  indifference.  When  questioned  as  to  their 
wishes  and  determinations,  all  I  could  get  from>hem  was,  "  As 
our  fathers  lived  and  died,  so  will  we." 


ACCEPTANCE  OF  THE  CHILDREN'S  FRIEND.         161 

Tired  out  and  sad  of  heart,  I  sat  down  in  quiet  communion 
with  the  Blessed  Spirit,  and  breathed  up  a  prayer  for  guidance 
and  help  in  this  hour  of  sore  perplexity.  In  my  extremity  the 
needed  assistance  came  so  consciously  that  I  almost  exulted  in 
the  assurance  of  coming  victory.  Springing  up,  I  shouted  out, 
"  I  know  where  all  your  children  are,  who  are  not  among  the 
living  !  I  know,  yes,  I  do  know  most  certainly  where  all  the 
children  are,  whom  Death  has  taken  in  his  cold  grasp  from 
among  us,  the  children  of  the  good  and  of  t)  e  bad,  of  the  whites 
and  of  the  Indians,  I  know  where  all  the  children  are." 

Great  indeed  was  the  excitement  among  them.  Some  of  them 
had  had  their  faces  well  shrouded  in  their  blankets  as  they  sat 
like  upright  mummies  in  the  crowded  wigwam.  But  when  1 
uttered  these  words,  they  quickly  uncovered  their  faces,  and 
manifested  the  most  intense  interest.  Seeing  that  I  had  at 
length  got  their  attention,  I  went  on  with  my  words :  "  Yes,  I 
know  where  all  the  children  are.  They  have  gone  from  your 
camp-fires  and  wigwams.  The  hammocks  are  empty,  and  the 
little  bows  and  arrows  lie  idle.  Many  of  your  hearts  are  sad,  as 
you  mourn  for  those  little  ones  whose  voices  you  hear  not,  and 
who  come  not  at  your  call.  I  am  so  glad  that  the  Great  Spirit 
gives  me  authority  to  tell  you  that  you  may  meet  your  children 
again,  and  be  happy  with  them  for  ever.  But  you  must  IL^ten 
to  His  words,  which  I  bring  to  you  from  His  great  Book,  and 
give  Him  your  hearts,  and  love  and  serve  Him.  There  is  only 
one  way  to  that  beautiful  land,  where  Jesus,  the  Son  of  the 
Great  Spirit,  has  gone,  and  into  which  He  takes  all  the  children 
who  have  died ;  and  now  that  you  have  heard  His  message  and 
seen  His  Book,  you  too  must  come  this. way,  if  you  would  be 
happy  and  there  enter  in." 

While  I  was  thus  speaking,  a  big,  stalwart  man  from  the  other 
side  of  the  tent  sprang  up,  and  rushed  towards  me.  Beating  on 
his  breast,  he  said,  "  Missionary,  my  heart  is  empty,  and  I  mourn 
much,  for  none  of  my  children  are  left  among  the  living;  very 
lonely  is  my  wigwam.  I  long  to  see  my  children  again,  and  to 
clasp  them  in  my  arms.  Tell  me,  Missionary,  what  must  I  do 
to  please  the  Great  Spirit,  that  I  may  get  to  that  beautiful  land, 

11 


162  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

that  I  may  meet  my  children  again?  "  Then  he  sank  at  my  feet 
upon  the  ground,  his  eyes  suffused  with  tears,  and  was  quickly 
joined  by  others,  who,  like  him,  were  broken  down  with  grief, 
and  were  anxious  now  for  religious  instruction. 

To  the  blessed  Book  we  went,  and  after  reading  what  Jesus 
had  said  about  little  children,  and  giving  them  some  glimpses  of 
His  great  love  for  them,  we  told  them  "  the  old,  old  story,"  as 
simply  and  lovingly  as  we  could.  There  was  no  more  scoffing  or 
indifference.  Every  word  was  heard  and  pondered  over,  and 
from  that  hour  a  blessed  work  began,  which  resulted  in  the  great 
majority  of  them  deciding  to  give  their  hearts  to  God  ;  and  they 
have  been  true  to  their  vows. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

ON  THE  TRAIL  TO  SANDY  BAB — SLEEPING  ON  THE  ICE— THIEVISH 
ESQUIMAUX  DOGS— NARROW  ESCAPE  OP  JACK— JOYOUS  WELCOME- 
SOCIETY  FORMED— BENJAMIN  CAMERON,  ONCE  A  CANNIBAL,  NOW  A 
LAY  HELPER— PLUM-PUDDING — A  STRIKING  INSTANCE  OF  HONESTY. 

IN  December,  1877,  I  made  a  journey  to  the  Indians  living  at 
Sandy  Bar.  As  there  were  some  experiences  quite  different 
from  those  of  other  trips,  they  shall  here  be  recorded. 

Sandy  Bar,  or  White  Mud,  as  some  call  it,  is  over  a  hundred 
miles  south  of  Beren's  River,  where  we  then  resided.  We  made 
the  usual  preparations  for  our  journey,  getting  sleds  loaded  with 
supplies  for  ourselves  and  fish  for  our  dogs,  with  all  the  cooking 
arrangements  necessary  for  a  month's  absence  from  home. 

As  the  people  among  whom  we  were  going  were  poor,  we  ever 
felt  that,  Paul-like,  for  the  furtherance  of  the  Gospel,  the  wisest 
course  among  those  bands  who  had  not  fully  accepted  salvation 
was  to  keep  ourselves  as  far  as  possible  from  being  burdensome 
unto  them.  So  my  good  wife  cooked  a  generous  supply  of  meat 
and  buns,  made  as  rich  with  fat  as  possible.  Fortunate  indeed 
were  we  in  having  supplies  sufficient  for  this  to  be  done.  It  was 
not  always  so.  At  this  very  Mission,  all  we  had  one  morning  for 
breakfast  was  a  hind-quarter  of  a  wild  cat ! 

All  our  preparations  were  completed,  and  we  were  ready  to 
start  at  one  o'clock  in  the  morning.  To  our  great  regret  a 
fierce  storm  arose,  and  so  we  were  obliged  to  wait  until  the  day 
dawned,  ere  we  could  harness  our  dogs  and  venture  out.  When 
we  had  gone  about  twenty  miles,  the  storm  swept  with  such 
power  over  the  great  Lake  Winnipeg,  driving  the  recently  fallen 


164  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

snow  before  it,  with  such  a  stinging,  blinding  effect,  that  we  were 
forced  to  give  up  the  struggle,  and  run  into  the  forest  and 
camp. 

We  cleared  away  the  snow  from  a  space  about  eight  feet 
square.  At  one  side  of  this  we  built  up  our  fire,  and  over  the 
rest  of  the  cleared  space  we  spread  some  evergreen  boughs,  on 
which  we  placed  our  beds.  We  unharnessed  our  dogs,  and  thawed 
out  for  them  some  frozen  fish.  As  this  was  one  of  my  short  trips, 
I  had  with  me  but  two  dog-trains  and  two  good  Indians.  We 
melted  snow  in  our  kettles,  and  made  tea,  and  cooked  some  meat. 
This,  with  the  bread,  of  which  we  were  on  this  trip  the  happy 
possessors,  constituted  our  meals.  About  sundown  we  had  prayers, 
and  then,  as  we  had  been  up  most  of  the  previous  night,  we 
wrapped  ourselves  in  our  robes  and  blankets,  and  went  to  sleep 
to  the  lullaby  of  the  howling  tempest. 

About  ten  o'clock  that  night  I  woke  up,  and,  uncovering  my 
head,  found  that  the  storm  had  ceased.  I  sprang  up  and  kindled 
the  fire,  but  my  fingers  ached  and  my  body  shivered  ere  I  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  it  to  blaze  brightly.  I  filled  the  tea-kettle  with 
snow,  and  while  it  was  melting  I  called  up  my  two  travelling 
companions,  and  also  a  couple  of  young  natives,  who,  with  their 
dog-trains,  had  joined  us.  The  Indians  can  tell  with  marvellous 
accuracy  the  hour  of  the  night  by  the  position  of  the  Great  Bear 
in  the  heavens.  This  is  their  night  clock.  I  saw  by  their 
puzzled  looks,  as  they  gazed  at  the  stars,  that  they  wanted  to 
tell  me  I  had  made  a  great  mistake,  if  I  thought  it  was  near 
morning.  But  I  did  not  give  them  the  opportunity,  and  only 
hurried  up  the  breakfast.  After  prayers  we  harnessed  our  dogs, 
tied  up  our  loads  of  bedding,  food,  kettles,  and  other  things ;  and 
then,  throwing  the  boughs  on  which  we  had  slept  on  the  fire,  by 
the  light  which  it  afforded  us,  we  wended  our  way  out  through 
the  forest  gloom  to  the  frozen  lake. 

Taking  the  lead  with  my  own  splendid  dogs,  we  travelled  at 
such  a  rate  that,  ere  the  sun  rose  up  to  cheer  us,  over  forty  miles 
of  Winnipeg's  icy  expanse  lay  between  us  and  the  snowy  bed 
where  we  had  sought  shelter  and  slept  during  the  raging  storm. 
After  stopping  at  Dog's  Head,  where  were  a  few  Indians,  under 


MISERABLE  CAMP  ON  THE  ICE.  165 

the  eccentric  chief,  Thickfoot,  onward  we  travelled,  crossing  the 
lake  to  what  is  called  Bull's  Head,  where  we  camped  for  the 
night.  The  face  of  the  cliff  is  here  so  steep  that  we  could  not 
get  our  heavy  loads  up  into  the  forest  above,  so  we  were  obliged 
to  make  our  fire  and  bed  in  the  snowdrift  at  the  base  of  the  cliff. 
It  was  a  poor  place  indeed.  The  snow,  from  the  constant  drifting 
in  from  the  lake,  was  very  deep.  There  was  no  shelter  or  screen 
from  the  fierce  cold  wind,  which,  changing  during  the  night, 
blew  upon  us.  We  tried  to  build  up  the  fire,  but,  owing  to  our 
peculiar  position,  could  not  change  it.  In  the  woods,  at  our 
camps,  we  build  the  fire  where  the  smoke  will  be  driven  from  us. 
If  the  wind  changes,  we  change  our  fires.  Here  at  the  base 
of  this  cliff  we  could  do  nothing  of  the  kind;  the  result  was, 
we  were  either  shivering  in  the  bitter  cold,  or  blinded  by  the 
smoke. 

While  in  this  uncomfortable  plight,  and  trying  to  arrange 
our  camp  beds  on  the  snow,  for  we  could  not  get  any  balsam 
boughs  here  to  put  under  us,  we  were  joined  by  several  wild 
Indians,  who,  coming  down  the  lake,  saw  our  camp-fire.  They 
had  a  number  of  thin,  wild,  wolfish,  half-starved  Esquimaux  dogs 
with  them.  They  made  a  great  fuss  over  me,  which  here  meant 
so  much  tea  and  food.  I  treated  them  kindly,  and,  fearing  for 
our  supplies,  and  even  our  dog  harness,  and  the  other  things  for 
which  the  terrible  Esquimaux  dog  has  such  an  appetite,  I  politely 
informed  them  that  I  thought  they  would  be  more  comfortable 
if  they  travelled  on  a  little  further.  This  hint  was  met  with 
loud  protestations  that  they  could  not,  under  any  circumstances, 
think  of  denying  themselves  the  pleasure  of  at  least  stopping  one 
night  in  the  camp  of  the  Missionary,  about  whom  they  had  heard 
so  much  as  the  great  friend  of  the  Indian. 

Of  course  I  could  not  go  back  on  my  record,  or  resist  such 
diplomacy  ;  but  I  saw  trouble  ahead,  and  I  was  not  disappointed. 
In  order  to  save  something,  I  gave  to  their  wolfish  dogs  all  the 
fish  I  had,  which  was  sufficient  for  my  eight  for  several  days. 
These  the  Esquimaux  speedily  devoured.  I  made  the  men  bring 
the  dog  harness  into  the  camp,  and  with  the  sleds,  to  save  the 
straps  and  lashings,  they  built  a  little  barricade  against  the  wind. 


166  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TEAIN. 

In  addition  to  the  food  supplies  for  the  trip,  I  had  a  bag  of 
meat,  and  another  of  buns,  for  my  use  when  I  should  reach  the 
village,  where  I  was  going  to  preach  and  to  teach.  I  gathered 
a  pile  of  clubs,  which  I  cut  from  the  driftwood  on  the  shore,  from 
which  we  had  also  obtained  that  for  our  fire.  Then,  putting  the 
bag  of  meat,  which  was  frozen  hard,  under  my  pillow,  and  giving 
the  bag  of  buns  to  one  of  my  Indians,  with  orders  to  guard  it 
carefully,  I  lay  down  and  tried  to  go  to  sleep.  Vain  effort 
indeed  was  it  for  a  long  time.  No  sooner  were  we  down  than 
in  upon  us  swarmed  the  dogs.  They  fought  for  the  honour  of 
cleaning,  in  dog  fashion,  our  meat  kettle,  and  then  began  seeking 
for  something  more.  Over  us  they  walked,  and  soon,  by  their 
gathering  around  my  head,  I  knew  they  had  scented  the  meat. 
Up  I  sprang,  and,  vigorously  using  my  clubs,  a  number  of  which 
I  sent  among  them,  I  soon  drove  them  out  into  the  darkness  of 
the  lake.  Then  under  my  robes  again  I  got,  but  not  to  sleep. 
In  less  than  ten  minutes  there  was  an  encore,  which  was  repeated 
several  times.  At  length  my  supply  of  clubs  gave  out.  My  only 
consolation  was  that  the  dogs  had  received  so  many  of  them  that 
they  acted  as  though  they  were  ready  to  cry  quits  and  behave 
themselves.  As  it  looked  as  though  they  were  settling  down  to 
rest,  I  gladly  did  the  same.  Vain  hope,  indeed  1  I  went  to  sleep 
very  quickly,  for  I  was  very  weary,  but  I  woke  up  in  the  morning 
to  find  that  there  was  not  an  ounce  of  meat  left  in  the  bag  under 
my  head,  nor  a  single  bun  left  in  the  bag  which  the  Indian  had 
orders  so  carefully  to  guard. 

Our  condition  the  next  morning  was  not  a  very  pleasant  one. 
The  outlook  was  somewhat  gloomy.  Our  camp  was  in  an 
exposed  snow-drift.  We  had  no  roof  over  us.  The  fire  was 
a  poor  one,  as  the  drift-wood  with  which  it  was  made  was  wretched 
stuff,  giving  out  more  smoke  than  heat,  which,  persisting  in  going 
the  wrong  way,  often  filled  our  eyes  with  blinding  tears.  Our 
generous  supply  of  meat,  that  we  so  much  require  in  this  cold 
climate,  and  our  rich  buns,  so  highly  prized,  were  devoured  by 
the  dogs  which,  with  the  most  innocent  looks  imaginable,  sat 
around  us  in  the  snow  and  watched  our  movements.  Fortunately 
one  of  the  Indians  had  put  a  few  plain  biscuits  in  a  small  bag, 


JACK'S  NARROW  ESCAPE.  167 

which  he  was  taking,  as  a  great  gift,  to  a  friend.  These  were 
brought  out,  and  with  our  tea  and  sugar  were  all  we  had,  or 
could  get,  until  we  were  sixty  miles  further  south.  No  time  for 
grumbling,  so  we  prepared  ourselves  for  the  race  against  the 
march  of  hunger,  which  we  well  knew,  by  some  bitter  experiences, 
would,  after  a  few  hours,  rapidly  gain  upon  us. 

After  the  light  breakfast  we  knelt  down  in  the  snow  and  said 
our  prayers,  and  then  hurried  off.  My  gallant  dogs  responded 
to  my  call  upon  them  so  nobly  that  ere  that  short  wintry  day  in 
December  had  fled  away,  and  the  lake  was  shrouded  in  darkness, 
the  flying  sparks  from  the  tops  of  the  little  cabins  of  the  friendly 
Indians  told  us  we  had  conquered  in  the  race,  although  not  with- 
out some  narrow  escapes  and  scars. 

While  crossing  a  long  traverse  of  at  least  twenty-five  miles, 
my  largest  dog,  Jack,  went  through  a  crack  in  the  ice  .up  to 
his  collar.  These  ice  cracks  are  dangerous  things.  The  ice, 
which  may  be  several  feet  thick,  often  bursts  open  with  a  loud 
report,  making  a  fissure  which  may  be  from  a  few  inches  to 
several  feet  wide.  Up  this  fissure  the  water  rushes  until  it  is 
level  with  the  top.  Of  course,  as  the  cold  is  so  intense,  it  soon 
freezes  over,  but  it  is  very  dangerous  for  travellers  to  come  along 
soon  after  the  fissure  has  been  made.  I  have  seen  the  guide 
get  in  more  than  once,  and  have  had  some  very  narrow  escapes 
myself.  On  this  occasion  I  was  riding  on  the  sled;  the  two 
foremost  dogs  of  the  train  got  across  the  thinly  frozen  ice  all 
right,  but  Jack,  who  was  third,  broke  though  into  the  cold 
water  below.  The  head  dogs  kept  pulling  ahead,  and  the  sled 
dog  did  his  work  admirably,  and  so  we  saved  the  noble  St. 
Bernard  from  drowning,  and  soon  got  hinj  out.  The  cold  was  so 
intense  that  in  a  few  minutes  his  glossy  black  coat  was  covered 
with  a  coat  of  icy  mail.  He  seemed  to  know  the  danger  he  was 
in;  and  so,  the  instant  I  got  the  sled  across  the  ice  crack, 
he  started  off  direct  for  the  distant  forest  at  such  a  rate  that  he 
seemed  to  drag  the  other  dogs  as  well  as  myself  most  of  the  time 
We  were  about  twelve  miles  from  the  shore,  but  in  a  little  more 
than  an  hour  the  land  was  reached,  and  as  there  was  abundance 
of  dry  wood  here,  a  good  fire  was  soon  kindled,  before  which,  on 


168  BY   CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

a  buffalo  skin,  I  placed  my  ice-covered  companion.  He  turned 
himself  around  when  necessary,  and,  ere  the  other  sled  arrived, 
Jack  was  himself  again.  As  two  of  the  Indians  behind  us  had 
fallen  into  this  same  fissure,  we  were  delayed  for  some  time  in 
getting  them  dry  again. 

We  boiled  our  kettle  and  had  some  more  tea,  and  then  on  we 
hurried.  I  met  with  a  very  warm  welcome  from  the  people. 
The  greater  part  of  them  were  Indians  I  had  met  in  other  years. 
Many  were  from  Norway  House.  To  this  place  they  had  come, 
attracted  by  the  stories  of  its  valuable  fisheries  and  productive 
soil.  So  rapidly  had  the  Mission  at  Norway  House  increased  that 
fish  and  game  were  beginning  to  fail.  Hence  a  large  number 
emigrated  to  this  and  other  places. 

To  this  place  they  had  come  late  in  the  summer,  and  so  the 
little  houses  they  had  built  were  small  and  cold.  Then,  to  make 
matters  worse,  the  fisheries  had  not  proved  to  be  what  they  had 
been  represented.  They  crowded  round  me  as  I  drove  into  their 
village,  and  told  me  of  their  "  hungerings  oft,"  and  other  hard- 
ships. As  some  sleds  were  ready  to  start  for  Manitoba,  I 
hurried  into  one  of  the  little  homes  to  pencil  a  note  to  my 
Chairman,  the  Rev.  George  Young,  but  found  it  to  be  almost 
an  impossibility,  as  the  four  fingers  of  my  right  hand  were 
frozen.  These,  and  a  frozen  nose,  reminded  me  for  several  days 
of  that  sixty  miles'  run  on  short  rations. 

I  found,  in  addition  to  the  Christian  Indians,  quite  a  number 
of  others  who  had  been  attracted  to  this  place.  I  spent  eight 
days  among  them.  They  had  about  a  dozen  little  houses,  in 
addition  to  a  large  number  of  wigwams.  For  their  supplies 
they  were  depending  on  their  rabbit  snares,  and  their  nets  for 
fish,  which  were  obtained  in  but  limited  quantities.  As  my  food 
had  been  stolen  from  me  by  the  dogs,  I  had  nothing  but  what 
they  gave  me ;  but  of  their  best  they  supplied  me  most  cheerfully, 
and  so  I  breakfasted,  dined,  and  supped  on  rabbit  or  fish,  and 
fared  well. 

I  preached,  as  was  my  custom,  three  times  a  day,  and  kept 
school  between  the  services.  I  organised  a  class  or  society  of 
thirty-five  members,  ten  of  whom  for  the  first  time  now  decided 


GATHERING  INTO  THE  FOLD.  169 

for  Christ,  and  resolved  henceforth  to  be  His  loyal  followers.  It 
was  a  great  joy  to  be  gathering  in  these  decided  ones,  as  the  result 
of  the  seed  sown  amidst  the  discouragements  of  earlier  years.  I 
was  very  fortunate  in  securing  a  good  leader,  or  spiritual  overseer, 
for  this  little  flock  in  the  wilderness.  Benjamin  Cameron  was 
his  name.  He  had  had  a  strange  career.  He  had  been  a 
cannibal  in  his  day,  but  Divine  Grace  had  gone  down  into  the 
depths  of  sin  into  which  he  had  sunk,  and  had  lifted  him  out, 
and  put  his  feet  upon  the  Rock,  and  filled  his  lips  with  singing, 
and  his  heart  with  praise.  He  was  emphatically  "  a  good  man, 
and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

The  hours  I  spent  with  the  children  were  very  pleasant  and 
profitable.  I  was  pleased  to  hear  the  elder  children  read  so  well, 
and  was  especially  delighted  with  their  knowledge  of  the  Catechism 
in  both  Cree  and  English.  I  distributed  a  fresh  supply  of -books 
which  I  had  brought  them,  and  also  gave  to  the  needy  ones 
some  warm,  comfortable  garments  sent  by  loving  friends  from 
Montreal. 

If  the  dear  friends,  into  whose  hearts  the  good  desire  to  send 
these  very  comfortable  garments  had  been  put,  could  only  have 
seen  how  much  misery  was  relieved,  and  happiness  conferred, 
they  would  have  felt  amply  rewarded  for  their  gifts. 

In  connection  with  one  of  the  Sunday  services  I  administered  the 
Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  We  had  a  most  solemn  and 
impressive  yet  delightful  time.  The  Loving  Saviour  seemed  very 
near,  and  fresh  vows  and  covenants  were  entered  into  by  all,  that 
to  Him  they  would  be  true. 

I  spent  Christmas  among  them,  and  as  one  of  them  had 
succeeded  in  getting  some  minks  in  his  traps,  and  for  the  skins 
had  obtained  from  some  passing  "free-traders"  some  flour  and 
plums,  they  got  up  in  honour  of  my  visit  a  plum-pudding.  It 
haunts  me  yet,  and  so  I  will  not  here  describe  it. 

As  beautiful  weather  favoured  us  on  our  return,  we  took  the 
straight  route  home,  and  arrived  there  in  two  days,  rejoicing  that 
the  trip,  as  regarded  its  spiritual  aspects,  had  been  a  great 
success. 

One  day  an  Indian  came  into  my  house  and  threw  down  a 


170  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

fine  haunch  of  venison  upon  the  table.  As  we  were  poorly  off' 
for  food,  I  was  very  much  pleased,  and  said  to  him,  "  What  shall 
I  give  you  for  this  meat  ?  " 

"  Nothing,"  he  replied ;  "  it  belongs  to  you." 

"  You  must  be  mistaken,"  I  said.  "  I  never  had  any  dealings 
with  you." 

"  But  I  had  with  you,"  he  answered.  "  And  so  this  meat  is 
yours." 

Being  unacquainted  with  the  man,  I  asked  him  to  tell  me  who 
he  was,  and  how  he  made  it  out  that  this  meat  belonged  to  me. 

Said  he,  "  Did  you  not  go  to  Nelson  River  with  dogs  and 
Indians  about  two  moons  ago  ?  " 

«  Yes,"  I  replied,  «  I  did." 

"  Well,  I  was  out  hunting  deer,  but  I  did  not  have  much  luck. 
The  snow  was  deep,  the  deer  were  very  shy,  and  I  had  no  success. 
One  day,  when  very  hungry,  for  I  had  only  taken  a  little  dried 
rabbit  meat  with  me  from  my  wigwam,  I  came  across  your  trail, 
and  I  found  where  your  Indians  had  made  a  cache,  that  is,  a  big 
bundle  of  provisions  and  other  things  had  been  tied  up  in  a 
blanket,  and  then  a  small  tree  had  been  bent  down  by  your  men, 
and  the  bundle  fastened  on  the  top,  and  let  spring  up  again  to 
keep  it  from  the  wolves.  I  saw  your  bundle  hanging  there,  and 
as  I  was  very  hungry  I  thought,  'Now  if  the  kind-hearted 
Missionary  only  knew  the  poor  Indian  hunter  was  here  looking 
at  his  bundle  of  food,  he  would  say,  "  Help  yourself; " '  and  that  was 
what  I  did.  I  bent  down  the  tree,  and  found  the  large  piece  of 
pemmican.  I  cut  off  a  piece  big  enough  to  make  me  a  good 
dinner,  then  I  tied  up  the  bundle  again,  and  let  it  swing  up  as 
you  had  it.  And  now  I  have  brought  you  this  venison  in  place 
of  what  I  took." 

I  was  pleased  with  his  honesty,  and  had  in  the  incident  another 
example  of  the  Indian  quickness  to  read  much  where  the  white 
man  sees  nothing. 

The  reason  why  we  had  made  the  cache  which  the  Indian  had 
discovered  was,  that  we  had  taken  a  large  quantity  of  pemmican 
for  our  food,  as  the  people  we  were  going  to  see  were  poor,  and  we 
did  not  wish  to  be  a  burden  to  them ;  but  we  had  been  caught  in 


HONEST  AND   CLEVER.  171 

a  terrible  storm,  and  as  the  snow  was  very  deep,  making  the 
travelling  heavy,  we  were  obliged  to  lighten  our  loads  as  soon  as 
possible.  So  we  left  a  portion,  as  the  Indian  has  described,  on 
the  way. 

When  we  returned  to  the  cache,  and  my  men  pulled  it  down 
and  opened  the  bundle,  one  of  them  quickly  cried  out,  "  Somebody 
has  been  at  our  cache." 

"  Nonsense,"  I  replied ;  "  nobody  would  disturb  it.  And  then 
there  were  no  tracks  around  when  we  reached  here  to-night." 

Looking  at  the  largest  piece  of  pemmican,  the  Indians  said, 
"  Missionary,  somebody  has  taken  down  our  bundle  and  cut  off 
a  piece  just  here.  That  there  are  no  tracks,  is  because  there 
have  been  so  many  snow-storms  lately.  All  tracks  made  a  few 
days  ago  are  covered  up." 

As  I  knew  they  were  so  much  quicker  along  these  lines  of 
education  than  white  men,  I  did  not  argue  any  more  with  them. 
The  coming  of  the  old  hunter  with  the  venison  was  the  proof 
of  the  cleverness  of  my  men,  and  also  a  very  honourable  act  on 
his  part.  I  kept  the  old  man  to  dinner,  and  among  other  things 
I  asked  him  how  he  knew  it  was  the  Missionary's  party  that 
passed  that  way.  He  quickly  replied,  "  By  your  tracks  in  the 
snow.  Indians'  toes  turn  in  when  they  walk,  white  men's  toes 
turn  out." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A.N  INDIAN  LOVEFEAST — MANY  WITNESSES— SWEET  SONGS  OP  ZION — THE 
LORD'S  SUPPER — MEMOIR   OP    WILLIAM    MEMOTAS,  THE  DEVOTED 

CHRISTIAN. 

OUR  Lovefeasts  and  sacramental  services  were  always  well 
attended,  if  it  were  within  the  range  of  possibility  for  the 
Indians  to  be  present.  To  come  in  on  Saturday  from  their 
distant  hunting  grounds  sixty  miles  away,  that  they  might  enjoy 
the  services  of  the  Lord's  house  on  His  own  day,  was  no  unusual 
thing.  Then  on  Monday  morning  we  have  seen  them  again 
strap  on  their  snowshoes,  and  with  glad  hearts  and  renewed  zeal 
start  off  to  return  to  their  lonely  hunting  camps  in  the  distant 
forests. 

They  are  able  to  express  themselves  clearly,  and  often  quite 
eloquently.  When  their  hearts  are  full  of  the  love  of  God,  and 
they  are  rejoicing  in  the  blessed  assurance  of  the  Divine  favour, 
they  are  willing  to  speak  about  it. 

"  What  they  have  felt  and  seen 
With  confidence  they  tell." 

Here  are  some  of  their  testimonies.  These  are  the  living  words 
of  men  and  women  who  were  once  the  slaves  of  a  debasing 
paganism.  But  on  their  hearts  the  blessed  Spirit  shone,  and  to 
His  pleading  voice  they  responded,  and  now,  happy  in  the  con- 
sciousness that  they  are  the  children  of  God,  they  love  to  talk 
about  what  wonderful  things  have  been  done  for  them  and 
wrought  in  them.  Timothy  Bear  said  : 
"  It  is  sunh  a  iov  to  me,  that  I  can  tell  you  of  great  things 


INDIAN  LOVEFEAST.  173 

done  for  me.  Great  is  the  joy  I  have  in  my  heart  to-day.  I 
rest  in  the  consciousness  that  He  is  my  own  reconciled  Heavenly 
Father,  and  so  I  feel  it  good  to  he  here  in  the  Lord's  house,  and 
with  those  that  love  Him.  The  good  Spirit  gives  me  to  see  how 
good  and  kind  my  Heavenly  Father  is ;  and  so  I  can  say  that 
the  greatest  anxiety  of  my  heart  and  life  is  to  serve  God  better 
and  better  as  I  grow  older.  To  do  this  I  have  found  out  that  I 
must  have  Divine  help.  But  He  is  my  Helper  for  everything, 
and  so  I  need  not  fail.  So  I  am  encouraged  that  I  shall  love 
God  more  and  more,  and,  with  that,  I  want  to  love  His  cause 
and  people,  and  those  who  have  not  yet  become  His  people,  that 
they  may  soon  do  so,  more  and  more.  For  the  conversion  of  the 
unsaved,  let  us,  who  feel  that  Jesus  saves  us,  pray  more  earnestly 
than  ever,  and  may  God  help  us  to  live  our  religion,  that  the 
heathen  around  us  may  see  in  our  lives  what  a  wonderful  thing 
it  is." 

Timothy's  burning  words  produced  a  deep  impression,  and 
some  one  began  to  sing : 

"  Ayurne-oo-we-nah,*' 

"  The  praying  Spirit  breathe." 

Half  a  dozen  were  on  their  feet  when  the  verses  were  sung,  but 
Thomas  Walker  spoke  first.  He  said  : 

"  When  I  first  heard  the  Gospel  long  winters  ago,  as  brought 
to  us  by  Mr.  Evans,  I  was  soon  convinced  that  I  was  a  sinner 
and  needed  forgiveness.  I  found  I  could  not  of  myself  get  rid 
of  my  sins,  so  I  believed  in  Christ,  and  found  that  He  had  power 
to  forgive.  I  was  very  wretched  before  I  was  forgiven.  I  was 
afraid  I  should  be  lost  for  ever.  I  mourned  and  wept  before 
God  on  account  of  my  sins.  In  the  woods  alone,  I  cried  in  my 
troubles,  and  was  in  deep  distress.  But  I  heard  of  the  love  and 
power,  and  willingness  to  save,  of  this  Jesus  of  the  great  Book, 
and  so  I  exercised  a  living  faith  in  Him ;  and  as  I  believed,  God's 
voice  was  heard,  saying,  '  My  son,  I  have  forgiven  your  sins ;  I 
have  blotted  them  out.  Go  in  peace.'  I  am  sure  I  was  not 
mistaken ;  I  felt  filled  with  peace  and  joy.  I  felt  that  I,  Thomas 
Walker,  was  cleansed  from  my  many  sins,  and  clothed  with  the 


174  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN, 

garments  of  salvation.  That  was  a  blessed  day  when  the  Spirit 
of  God  shone  into  my  heart  and  drove  out  the  darkness.  Since 
then,  my  way  in  Him  has  been  like  the  sunlight  on  the  waters. 
The  more  waves,  the  more  sunshine.  I  am  happy  in  His  love 
to-day.  I  am  confident  that,  because  He  aids  me,  I  am  growing 
in  grace. 

"  I  rejoice  at  being  spared  to  come  to  another  celebration  of 
the  Lord's  Supper ;  and  in  view  of  partaking  of  the  emblems  of 
the  dying,  loving  Jesus,  I  feel  that  my  soul  is  feeding  on  Christ, 
the  true  Bread  of  Life." 

Earnest  yet  suppressed  words  of  praise  and  adoration  quietly 
dropped  from  many  lips  as  Thomas  ended.  Then  dear  old  Henry 
Budd  succeeded  in  getting  a  hearing.  Henry  was  Mr.  Evans' 
marvellous  dog-driver  over  twenty-five  years  before  the  date  of 
this  blessed  lovefeast.  He  had  had  many  wonderful  adventures 
and  some  narrow  escapes.  Once,  when  running  ahead  on  a 
treacherous  river,  where  in  places  the  current  was  very  rapid, 
and  consequently  the  ice  was  thin,  he  broke  through  into  the 
current  underneath.  He  quickly  caught  hold  of  the  edge  of  the 
ice,  but  it  was  so  weak  it  would  not  hold  him  up.  His  only 
comrade  could  not  get  very  near  him  as  the  ice  was  so  bad,  and 
so  had  to  run  labout  a  mile  for  a  rope.  When  he  returned,  so 
intense  was  the  cold  that  both  of  Henry's  hands,  with  which  he 
had  been  holding  on  to  the  ice,  were  frozen.  He  was  utterly 
unable  to  close  them  on  the  rope.  George  shouted  to  him  to 
open  his  mouth.  The  rope  was  then  thrown,  lasso-li^e,  so  skil- 
fully, that  the  poor  half-frozen  man  seized  it  in  his  teeth,  and  was 
thus  dragged  out,  and  rushed  off  to  the  nearest  wigwam.  He 
was  literally  saved  by  the  "  skin  of  his  teeth." 

Thus  Henry  Budd  had,  like  many  others,  much  for  which  to 
praise  God.  He  spoke  on  this  occasion  as  follows  : 

"  I  rejoice  in  God  my  Saviour,  Who  has  done  such  wonderful 
things  for  me.  I  feel  very  happy.  I  am  His  child.  He  is  my 
reconciled  Father.  How  can  I  help  being  happy  \ 

"  When  I  first  began  to  get  my  poor  blind  eyes  opened,  and 
there  came  to  me  a  desire  to  seek  God,  and  to  obtain  salvation 
for  my  soul,  I  was  troubled  on  account  of  my  sins.  My  many 


HENRY  BUDD.  175 

transgressions  rose  up  before  me  like  a  cloud.  I  was  ignorant, 
and  so  my  mind  was  full  of  doubts  and  fears.  Yet  with  all  my 
doubts  there  was  the  anxious  desire  to  be  saved.  But  the  victory 
came  at  last.  I  was  enabled  to  hear  enough  about  the  Almighty 
Friend,  and  so,  as  I  had  confidence  in  His  power  and  love,  and 
believed  in  Him,  I  was  at  last  enabled  to  rejoice  in  the  know- 
ledge of  sins  forgiven  through  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
From  those  sad  doubts  and  fears  I  am  now  happily  delivered. 
I  feel  I  love  God,  and  that  God  loves  me.  I  am  growing  in 
grace,  and  in  the  knowledge  of  God  my  Saviour.  My  hopes  are 
brightening  all  the  time.  I  am  getting  old,  but  not  unhappy, 
for  I  am  cheered  with  the  blessed  assurance  of  one  day  meeting, 
in  my  Father's  house  in  heaven,  with  many  who  are  safely  there, 
and  many  more  who,  like  me,  will  soon  enter  in.  That  this  may 
be  a  blessed  certainty,  I  desire  to  be  faithful  unto  the  end;  that 
no  man  take  my  crown." 

When  Henry  sat  down,  before  another  one  could  be  heard,  the 
large  congregation  were  singing  : — 

"  Pe  teh-na-mah-me  cha-te  yak 
Ke  che  ne-ka-mo-yak,"  etc. 

«  O  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing 
My  great  Redeemer's  praise.** 

The  next  to  get  the  floor  was  one  of  the  sweetest,  purest  Chris- 
tians it  was  ever  my  lot  to  become  acquainted  with  in  any  land. 
His  name  was  William  Memotas.  He  was  a  very  happy 
Christian.  As  he  was  a  Local  Preacher  and  a  Class  Leader,  I  was 
much  in  his  society,  and  I  can  say,  as  many  others  have  said, 
that  William  since  the  day  of  his  conversion  was  never  heard  to 
utter  an  unkind  word  about  any  one,  or  do  anything  that  could 
give  the  enemies  of  the  Lord  Jesus  an  opportunity  to  scoff  at  his 
profession  of  loving  the  Lord  with  all  his  heart.  He  was  never 
a  very  strong  man  physically  while  we  knew  him,  and  so  was 
unable  to  go  on  the  long  tripping  or  hunting  expeditions  with  his 
more  vigorous  comrades.  He  suffered  much  from  inward  pain, 
but  was  ever  blight  and  hopeful.  When  he  stood  up  to  add  his 
testimony,  the  sick,  pallid  face  caused  a  wave  of  sympathy  to 


176  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN 

pass  over  the  audience,  but  his  cheery  words  quickly  lifted  the 
cloud,  and  we  seemed  to  look  through  the  open  door  into  the 
celestial  city,  into  which  he  was  so  soon  to  enter.  His  obituary, 
which  I  wrote  at  the  time  of  his  death,  is  added  at  the  close  of 
this  chapter.  He  said  : — 

"  For  many  years  I  have  now  been  walking  in  this  way,  and 
proving  this  great  salvation.  It  is  a  blessed  way,  and  it  is 
getting  more  delightful  all  the  time.  Every  day  on  it  is  a  day's 
walk  nearer  Jesus.  It  is  not  like  the  trails  in  our  country, 
sometimes  rocks,  and  then  more  often  muskegs  and  quaking  bogs; 
but  it  is  the  solid  rock  all  the  time,  and  on  it  we  may  always  be 
sure  of  our  footing,  and  it  leads  us  up  to  Him  Who  is  the  Rock  of 
Ages.  I  am  not  now  a  strong  man,  as  you  know  I  once  was. 
This  poor  weak  body  is  like  the  old  wigwam.  It  is  breaking  up. 
As  each  storm  tears  fresh  rents  in  the  old  wigwam,  so  each 
attack  of  disease  seems  to  tear  me,  and  bring  me  nearer  the  time 
when  what  is  immortal  of  me  shall  slip  away  from  the  worn  body 
into  the  everlasting  brightness  of  that  land  where  the  happy 
people  never  say,  '  I  am  sick.'  I  am  very  glad  and  happy  in  the 
service  of  this  Jesus,  and  will  serve  Him  as  long  as  He  lends  me 
health.  But  I  do  want  to  go  home.  I  cannot  do  much  more 
here.  Our  Missionary,  Mr.  Young,  said  to  me,  '  William,  don't 
talk  so  much  about  leaving  us.  How  can  we  spare  you  ? '  I 
thank  him  for  his  love  and  friendship,  but  there  is  another 
Friend  I  am  getting  such  a  longing  in  my  heart  to  see,  and  that 
is  Jesus,  my  Saviour,  my  Redeemer.  I  am  praying  for  patience, 
but  by-and-by  I  shall  be  with  Him,  with  Him  for  evermore. 
There  I  shall  have  no  pain,  and  I  will  praise  my  Jesus  for  ever- 
more. So,  while  waiting,  I  ask  God  to  be  with  me  here,  and  to 
let  me  serve  Him  in  some  way  every  day." 

With  suppressed  emotion,  for  many  eyes  were  full  of  tears,  the 
people  sang — 

M  Tapwa  meyoo  ootaskewuk, 

Ispemik  ayahchik,"  etc. 
"  There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight, 

Where  saints  immortal  reign.* 

William  was  a  sweet  singer,  and  joined  heartily  with  the  rest 


SIXTY  MILES  ON  SNOW-SHOES.  177 

in  singing  several  verses  of  that  grand  oM  hymn.  We  had  a 
presentiment  that  the  end  was  not  far  off,  but  we  little  thought, 
as  we  looked  into  his  radiant  face,  and  heard  his  clear  scriptural 
testimony,  and  his  longings  for  rest  and  heaven,  that  this  was 
to  be  the  last  Lovefeast  in  which  our  dear  brother  was  to  be  with 
us.  Ere  another  similar  service  was  held,  William  Memotas 
had  gone  sweeping  through  the  gates,  washed  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb. 

James  Cochrane,  a  Class  Leader,  said, — 

"  I  have  great  reason  to  bless  God  for  the  privileges  and  mercies 
I  have  had  from  Him.  I  am  tso  glad  to  be  with  you  to-day  in 
His  house.  I  try  to  arrange  all  my  huntings  and  journeys  so  as 
to  be  present  at  all  of  these  lovefeasts  and  sacraments.  Since 
I  decided,  many  years  ago,  to  give  up  paganism  and  become  A 
Christian,  I  have  never  missed  one  of  these  meetings,  though 
sometimes  I  have  had  to  take  several  days  and  travel  hundreds 
of  miles  to  get  here.  I  only  had  to  travel  sixty  miles  on  my 
snow-shoes  to  be  here  to-day.  It  has  paid  me  well  to  come.  I 
rejoice  that  God  has  enabled  me  to  be  faithful  all  these  years 
since  I  started  in  His  service.  When  I  first  began,  I  had  a  great 
many  doubts  and  fears.  The  way  seemed  very  long  ahead  of  me. 
I  felt  so  weak  and  so  prone  to  sin.  It  seemed  impossible  that 
such  a  weak,  unworthy  creature  as  I  could  stand  true  and  faith- 
ful ;  but  trusting  in  God,  and  constantly  endeavouring  to  exercise 
a  living  faith  in  Christ,  I  have  been  kept  to  this  day,  and  I  can 
say  I  realise  a  daily  growth  in  grace.  I  ask  God  to  give  me  His 
Holy  Spirit  to  help  me  to  follow  Christ's  example  and  to  keep  all 
of  God's  commandments.  May  I,  too,  prove  faithful." 

Mary  Cook,  a  very  old  woman,  who  has  had  to  endure  persecu- 
tion for  Christ's  sake,  spoke  next.  She  said : 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  be  here  once  more.  I  have  many  pagan 
relatives  who  have  no  feeling  of  friendship  towards  me,  because  I 
am  a  follower  of  Jesus.  But  He  is  my  Friend,  so  it  is  all  rigLt. 
I  have  been  very  sick,  and  thought  that  God  was  going  to  take 
me  home  to  heaven.  That  thought  made  me  very  happy  in  my 
sickness.  My  poor  little  room  often  seemed  light  with  the 
presence  of  my  Lord.  I  love  to  dwell  with  God's  people.  It  is 

12 


178  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

my  chief  joy.  I  refused  to  go  and  live  with  my  relatives  in  the 
woods,  even  though  I  should  be  better  off,  because  I  love  the 
house  of  God,  and  because  I  so  love  to  worship  with  God's 
people." 

Mary  Oig  said : 

"  Very  happy  do  I  feel  in  my  heart  to-day.  My  heart  is  filled 
with  His  love.  I  know  I  love  Him  and  His  people ;  and  His 
service  is  to  me  a  great  delight.  Once,  like  many  others,  I  was 
in  the  great  darkness,  wandering  in  sin ;  but  God  sought  me  by 
His  Holy  Spirit,  and  convinced  me  of  my  lost  condition,  and 
showed  me  Himself  as  my  only  Hope,  and  enabled  me  to -rejoice 
in  His  pardoning  mercy  through  faith  in  the  Atonement.  May 
God  keep  me  faithful,  that  with  you  I  may  join  around  the 
Throne  above." 

Thomas  Mamanowatum,  generally  known  as  "  Big  Tom,"  on 
account  of  his  almost  gigantic  size,  was  the  next  to  speak.  He  is 
one  of  the  best  of  men.  I  have  used  him  to  help  me  a  good  deal, 
and  have  ever  found  him  one  of  the  worthiest  and  truest  assistants. 
His  people  all  love  and  trust  him.  He  is  perhaps  the  most 
influential  Indian  in  the  village.  Tom  said : 

"  I,  too,  desire  to  express  my  gratitude  to  God  for  His  great 
blessings  and  mercies  to  me.  I  am  like  David,  who  said,  '  Come, 
all  ye  who  fear  the  Lord,  and  I  will  tell  you  what  He  hath  done 
for  my  soul.'  He  has  taken  me  out  of  the  pit  of  sin,  and  set  me 
on  the  rock.  So  I  rejoice,  for  I  have  felt  and  tasted  of  His  love. 
When  I  think  of  what  He  has  done  for  me,  and  then  think  of 
what  I  have  been,  I  feel  that  I  am  not  worthy  even  to  stand  up 
in  such  a  place  as  this.  But  He  is  worthy,  and  so  I  must  praise 
Him.  I  have  a  comfortable  assurance  that  He,  my  good  Father, 
is  contented  with  me.  But  it  is  only  because  the  grace  of  God  is 
sufficient  to  keep  me.  I  am  growing  in  grace,  and  I  desire  more 
than  ever  to  glorify  God  in  all  I  think,  or  speak,  or  do.  I  have 
been  helping  our  Missionary  at  Beren's  River  in  the  good  work 
among  the  people  there.  I  often  felt  happy  while  endeavouring 
to  point  my  heathen  brethren  to  Jesus  Christ,  Who  takes  away 
the  sins  of  the  world.  My  first  consecration  was  of  myself,  when 
converted  to  Christ.  My  second  was  of  my  family  to  Him.  My 


BEAUTIFUL  SCRIPTURAL   TESTIMONIES.  179 

third  is  of  my  class.  I  am  often  very  happy  while  trying  to  lead 
them  on  in  the  way  to  heaven.  To-day  I  renew  my  vows  of 
conservation.  I  offer  the  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving,  for  He  is  my 
God  and  my  portion  for  ever.  As  He  is  the  Source  of  Love  and 
Light  and  Safety,  I  want  to  be  continually  drawing  nearer  to 
Him." 
Very  appropriate  was  the  hymn  which  was  next  sung, — 

"  Ke-se-wog-ne-man-toom 
Ke-nah-te-tin,"  etc., 

*  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee." 

After  three  verses  of  this  beautiful  hymn  were  sung,  we  had  a 
large  number  of  short  testimonies.  Some  of  the  people  beautifully 
expressed  themselves  by  quoting  passages  from  their  Indian 
Bibles.  For  example,  one  said:  "The  joy  of  the  Lord  is  my 
portion."  Another  :  "  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd ;  I  shall  not 
want."  Another :  "  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and  it 
doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be  :  but  we  know  that,  when 
He  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  Him ;  for  we  shall  see  Him  as 
He  is." 

Thus  delightfully  passed  away  two  hours.  Perhaps  fifty  or 
sixty  gave  their  testimonies,  or  quoted  passages  of  Scripture. 
The  speaking  was  up  to  the  average  of  a  similar  gathering  among 
white  people,  as  these  examples  we  have  given  would  indicate. 
They  were  faithfully  translated  by  two  of  our  best  interpreters, 
and  then  compared.  And  yet  many  of  the  beautiful  Indian 
images  are  lost  in  the  translation  into  English. 

The  best  of  all  has  also  to  be  left  out.  The  Divine  power,  the 
holy  emotions,  the  shining  faces,  the  atmosphere  of  heaven, 
cannot  be  put  down  on  paper.  Many  of  my  readers  know  what 
I  mean  as  thus  I  write,  for  they  have  been  in  those  hallowed 
gatherings  where  "  they  that  feared  the  Lord  spake  often  one  to 
another." 

Then  followed  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  To  the 
Christian  Indians  this  service  is,  as  it  ever  should  be,  the  most 
solemn  and  impressive  in  the  Church.  Our  custom  was  to  hold 
four  Communion  services  during  the  year.  In  addition,  we 


180  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

sometimes  gave  a  dying  devoted  member  this  sacrament,  if  so 
desired.  Here  there  were  a  few  other  very  important  occasions, 
when  we  celebrated  in  this  way  the  dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  As, 
for  example,  when  several  scores  of  our  people  were  going  off  on 
a  dangerous  trip  in  a  plague-infected  district  with  but  very  poor 
prospects  of  all  returning  home  again. 

WILLIAM  MEMOTAS. 

William  Memotas  was  converted  from  the  darkness  of  paganism 
to  the  light  of  the  Gospel  soon  after  the  introduction  of  the  glad 
tidings  of  salvation  among  the  Cree  Indians  by  that  most  useful 
and  godly  man,  the  Eev.  James  Evans.  William's  conversion 
was  so  clear  and  positive  that  he  never  had  any  doubts  about  it. 
His  progress  in  the  Divine  life  was  marked  and  intelligent,  and 
soon  he  became  a  useful  and  acceptable  worker  in  the  Church. 
He  was  a  Class  Leader  and  Local  Preacher  of  great  power  and 
acceptability. 

He  was  pre-eminently  a  happy  Christian.  His  face  seemed  full 
of  sunshine.  There  was  a  genial  sweetness  about  him  that 
caused  his  very  presence  to  act  as  a  charm.  His  coming  into 
our  Mission  home  was  like  the  sunshine,  in  which  even  our  little 
ones  basked  with  great  delight.  He  was  an  every-day  Christian. 
Although  I  was  often  in  his  company,  and  was  thrown  in  contact 
with  him  on  some  occasions  calculated  to  severely  test  him,  yet 
I  never  heard  from  him  an  improper  word,  or  heard  of  his  having 
in  any  way  gone  contrary  to  his  Christian  profession  during  the 
thirty  years  that  he  had  professed  to  be  a  follower  of  the  Lord 
Jesus. 

His  greatest  aim  in  life  seemed  to  be  to  get  to  heaven ;  and 
next  to  that  he  strove  to  induce  others  to  follow  in  the  same 
course. 

When  some  of  the  Indians  were  getting  excited  about  their 
lands,  and  the  treaties  which  were  soon  to  be  made  with  the 
Government,  William,  in  writing  to  a  friend,  said :  "  I  care  for 
none  of  these  things ;  they  will  all  come  right.  My  only  desire 
is  to  love  Jesus  more  and  more,  so  as  to  see  Him  by-and-by." 

He  was  a  useful  Christian.     Possessing  a  good  knowledge  of 


WILLIAM  MEMOTAS.  181 

the  roots  and  herbs  of  his  native  forests,  and  also  having  had 
some  instruction  given  him  in  reference  to  some  of  the  simpler 
medicines  of  the  whites,  he  was  often  styled  our  "  village  doctor." 
Although  seldom  remunerated  for  his  services,  he  was  always 
ready  to  listen  to  the  calls  of  the  afflicted,  and,  with  Heaven's 
blessing,  was  instrumental  in  accomplishing  some  marvellous 
cures.  He  believed  in  using  a  good  deal  of  prayer  with  his 
medicines.  His  skill  in  dressing  and  curing  gun-shot  wounds 
could  not  be  excelled. 

Yet,  while  doing  all  he  could  to  cure  others,  his  own  health 
was  very  poor  for  several  years.  He  suffered  frequently  from 
violent  headaches  that  caused  intense  pain.  Yet  he  was  never 
heard  to  murmur  or  complain,  but  would  say  to  us,  when  we 
tried  to  sympathise  with  him,  "Never  mind,  by-and-by  I  shall 
get  home,  and  when  I  see  Jesus  I  shall  have  no  more  ^>ain." 
About  nine  days  before  his  departure  he  caught  a  severe  cold 
that  settled  upon  his  lungs,  which  seemed  to  have  been  diseased 
for  a  long  time.  He  had  from  the  beginning  a  presentiment  that 
his  sickness  was  "  unto  death,"  and  never  did  a  weary  toiler 
welcome  his  bed  of  rest  with  greater  delight  than  did  William 
the  grave.  The  prospect  of  getting  to  heaven  seemed  so  fully  to 
absorb  his  thoughts  that  he  appeared  dead  to  everything  earthly. 
In  life  he  had  been  a  most  loving  and  affectionate  husband  and 
father,  but  now,  with  a  strong  belief  in  God's  promises  of  protec- 
tion and  care  over  the  widow  and  fatherless,  he  resigned  his  family 
into  the  Lord's  hands,  and  then  seemed  almost  to  banish  them 
from  his  thoughts. 

Being  very  poor  on  account  of  his  long-continued  ill  health, 
which  had  incapacitated  him  for  work,  he  had,  when  his  severe 
illness  began,  nothing  to  eat  but  fish.  We  cheerfully  supplied 
him  with  what  things  our  limited  means  would  allow,  to  alleviate 
his  sorrows  and  poverty.  One  day,  when  my  beloved  Brother 
Semmens  and  I  had  visited  him,  we  had  prayer  and  a  blessed 
talk  with  him.  As  we  were  leaving  him,  after  giving  him  some 
tangible  evidences  of  our  love,  Brother  Semmens  said,  "Now. 
Brother  William,  can  we  do  anything  else  for  you?  Do  you 
want  anything  more  ?  "  The  poor  sick  man  turned  his  radiant 


182  BY  CANOE  AND  DOO-TRAIN. 

face  towards  us  and  said,  "  0  no,  I  want  nothing  now,  but  more 
of  Christ." 

lie  often  conversed  with  us  about  his  glorious  prospects  and 
the  joy  and  happiness  he  felt  as  the  pearly  gates  of  the  Golden 
City  seemed  to  he  opening  before  him.  Here  are  some  of  his 
dying  words  whispered  either  to  my  beloved  colleague  or  to 
myself.  Would  that  we  could  portray  the  scene,  or  describe  the 
happy,  shining  face  of  the  dying  man,  lying  there  on  a  bed  of 
blankets  and  rabbit  skins  in  his  little  dwelling  ! 

He  said,  "  While  my  body  is  getting  weaker,  my  faith  is 
getting  stronger,  and  I  am  very  happy  in  Jesus'  love.  Very 
glad  am  I  that  I  responded  to  Mr.  Evans'  invitations,  and  gave 
my  heart  to  Him  Who  has  saved  me  and  kept  me  so  happy  in 
His  love.  I  am  so  glad  I  was  permitted  to  do  some  little  work 
for  Jesus.  He  used  to  help  me  when  I  tried  to  talk  about  His 
love  and  recommend  Him  to  others.  I  used  to  get  very  happy 
in  my  own  soul  when  thus  working  for  Him.  I  am  happier  now 
than  ever  before.  I  am  resting  in  His  love." 

Thus  would  the  happy  man  talk  on  as  long  as  his  strength 
permitted.  It  was  ever  a  blessing  to  visit  him.  It  wonderfully 
encouraged  and  strengthened  us  in  our  work.  One  day,  as  we 
came  from  one  of  these  blessed  visits,  Brother  Semmens  burst  out 
in  almost  ecstatic  delight, 

"  0  may  I  triumph  so 
When  all  my  warfare's  past  1 M 

When  we  administered  to  him  the  emblems  of  the  broken  body 
and  spilt  blood  of  the  Redeemer,  he  was  much  affected,  and 
exclaimed,  "  My  precious  Saviour !  I  shall  soon  see  Him.  *  That 
will  be  joy  for  evermore.' " 

Once,  when  conversing  with  him,  I  happened  to  say,  "  I  hope 
you  will  not  leave  us.  We  want  you  to  remain  with  us.  We 
need  you  to  help  us  to  preach.  We  need  you  in  the  Sunday 
School  and  in  the  Prayer  Meetings.  Your  sixty  class  members 
are  full  of  sorrow  at  your  sickness.  They  think  they  cannot 
spare  you.  Do  not  be  in  a  hurry  to  leave  us,  William.  We  want 
your  presence,  your  example,  your  prayers." 


TRIUMPHANT  DEATH.  183 

He  listened  patiently  while  I  talked,  and  then  he  looked  up  at 
me  so  chidingly,  like  a  weary,  home-sick  child,  and  exclaimed,  in 
a  voice  that  showed  that  earth  had  lost  all  its  charms,  "  Why  do 
you  wish  to  detain  me  ?  You  know  I  want  to  go  home." 

Shortly  after,  his  heart's  desire  was  his  in  actual  posses- 
sion. Triumphantly  he  went  home.  While  we  felt  that  our 
Mission  was  much  the  loser  by  his  departure,  we  knew  it  was 
better  for  him,  and  an  accession  to  heaven's  glorious  company  of 
one  who  was  worthy  to  mingle  with  the  white-robed  throng 
around  the  throne  of  God. 

There  is  nothing  that  more  roots  and  grounds  us  in  this 
blessed  Gospel,  and  more  stimulates  us  to  labour  on  even  amidst 
hardships  and  sufferings,  than  the  consistent  lives  and  triumphant 
deaths  of  our  Indian  converts. 

Ignorant  as  many  of  them  are  of  the  non-essentials  of  our 
religion,  yet  possessing  by  the  Spirit's  influence  a  vivid  knowledge 
of  their  state  by  nature,  and  of  the  Saviour's  love  for  them,  they 
cling  to  Him  with  a  faith  so  strong  and  abiding,  that  the  blessed 
assurance  of  His  favour  abides  with  them  as  a  conscious  reality 
through  life;  and  when  the  end  draws  near,  sustained  by  His 
presence,  even  the  Valley  of  the  Shadow  of  Death  is  entered  with 
delight. 

The  Missions  among  the  Indians  of  North  America  have  not 
been  failures.  The  thousands  converted  from  different  tribes, 
and  now  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  the  many  true  and  stead- 
fast ones  following  after,  tell  us  that  although  many  of  the 
toilers  among  them,  as  they  went  with  the  seed,  literally  went 
forth  weeping,  yet  the  harvest  has  been  an  abundant  one,  and 
has  more  than  compensated  for  the  tears  and  toils  of  the  sowers. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

VARIED  DUTIES — CHRISTIANITY  MUST  PRECEDE  CIVILISATION— ILLUS- 
TRATIONS—EXPERIMENTAL  FARMING PLOUGHING  WITH  DOGS- 
ABUNDANCE  OP  FISH — VISITS  FROM  FAR-OFF  INDIANS— SOME  COME 
TO  DISTURB — MANY  SINCERE  INQUIRERS  AFTER  THE  TRUTH — "WHERE 
IS  THE  MISSIONARY  ?  " — BEREN'S  RIVER  MISSION  BEGUN — TIMOTHY 
BEAR — PERILS  ON  THE  ICE. 

VERY  diversified  were  our  duties  among  these  Indians.  Not 
only  were  there  those  that  in  all  places  are  associated  with 
ministerial  or  pastoral  work,  but  there  were  also  many  others, 
peculiar  to  this  kind  of  missionary  toil.  Following  closely  on 
the  acceptance  of  the  spiritual  blessings  of  the  Gospel  came  the 
desire  for  temporal  progress  and  development.  Christianity  must 
4ver  precede  a  real  and  genuine  civilisation.  To  reverse  this 
order  of  proceedings  has  always  resulted  in  humiliating  failure 
among  the  North  American  Indians. 

Sir  Francis  Bond  Head,  one  cf  the  early  Governors  of  Canada, 
took  a  great  interest  in  the  Indians.  He  zealously  endeavoured 
to  improve  them,  and  honestly  worked  for  their  advancement. 
He  gathered  together  a  large  number  of  them  at  one  of  their 
settlements,  and  held  a  great  council  with  them.  Oxen  were 
killed,  and  flour  and  tea  and  tobacco  were  provided  in  large 
quantities.  The  Indians  feasted  and  smoked,  and  listened 
attentively  to  this  great  man  who  represented  the  Queen,  and 
who,  having  also  supplied  them  with  food  for  the  great  feast,  was 
worthy  of  all  attention. 

The  Governor  told  them  that  the  great  object  of  his  coming  to 
see  them,  and  thus  feasting  them,  was  to  show  his  kindness  to 
f.hem,  and  interest  in  their  welfare.  Then,  with  much  emphasis 


CHRISTIANITY  BEFORE  CIVILISATION.  186 

he  told  them  how  the  game  was  disappearing,  and  the  fish  also 
would  soon  not  be  so  plentiful,  and,  unless  they  settled  down  and 
cultivated  the  soil,  they  would  suffer  from  hunger,  and  perhaps 
starve  to  death.  He  got  them  to  promise  that  they  would  begin 
this  new  way  of  life.  As  they  were  feeling  very  comfortable 
while  feasting  on  his  bounties,  they  were  in  the  humour  of 
promising  everything  he  desired.  Very  much  delighted  at  their 
docility,  he  said  he  would  send  them  axes  to  clear  more  of  their 
land,  and  oxen  and  ploughs  to  prepare  it  for  seed  ;  and  when  all 
was  ready  he  would  send  them  seed  grain.  Great  were  their 
rejoicings  at  these  words,  and  with  stately  ceremony  the  council 
broke  up. 

In  a  few  days  along  came  the  ploughs,  oxen,  and  axes.  It  was 
in  the  pleasant  springtime,  but  instead  of  going  to  work  and 
ploughing  up  what  land  there  was  cleared  in  their  village,  and 
beginning  with  their  axes  to  get  more  ready,  they  held  a  council 
among  themselves.  These  were  their  conclusions :  "  These  axes 
are  bright  and  shine  like  glass.  If  we  use  them  to  cut  down 
trees,  they  will  lose  their  fine  appearance.  Let  us  keep  them  as 
ornaments.  These  oxen  now  are  fat  and  good.  If  we  fasten 
them  up  to  these  heavy  ploughs,  and  make  them  drag  them 
through  the  ground,  they  will  soon  get  poor  and  not  fit  for  food. 
Let  us  make  a  great  feast."  So  they  killed  the  oxen,  and  invited 
all  of  the  surrounding  Indians  to  join  them,  and  as  long  as  a 
piece  of  meat  was  left  the  pots  were  kept  boiling. 

Thus  ended,  just  as  many  other  efforts  of  the  kind  have  ended, 
this  effort  to  civilise  the  Indians  before  Christianising  them. 

We  found  that  almost  in  proportion  to  the  genuineness  of  the 
Indian's  acceptance  of  the  Gospel  was  his  desire  to  improve  his 
temporal  circumstances.  Of  course  there  were  some  places  where 
the  Indians  could  not  cultivate  the  land.  We  were  four  hundred 
miles  north  of  the  fertile  prairies  of  the  great  western  part  of 
the  Dominion  of  Canada,  where  perhaps  a  hundred  millions  of 
people  will  yet  find  happy  times.  From  these  wondrously  fertile 
regions  my  Nelson  River  Indians  were  at  least  six  hundred  miles 
north.  As  hunters  and  fishermen  these  men,  and  those  at  Oxford 
Mission,  and  indeed  nearly  all  in  those  high  latitudes,  must  live. 


186  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

But  where  there  was  land  to  cultivate  the  Indians  had  their 
gardens  and  little  fields. 

I  carried  out  with  me  four  potatoes.  I  did  not  get  them  in 
the  ground  until  the  6th  of  August.  Yet  in  tLe  short  season 
left  I  succeeded  in  raising  a  few  little  ones.  These  I  carefully 
packed  in  cotton  wool  and  kept  safe  from  the  frost.  The  next 
year  I  got  from  them  a  pailful.  The  yield  the  third  year  was  six 
bushels,  and  the  fourth  year  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  bushels  ; 
and  before  I  left  the  Indians  were  raising  thousands  of  bushels 
from  those  four  potatoes.  They  had  had  some  before,  but  there 
had  been  some  neglect,  and  they  had  run  out. 

One  summer  I  carried  out,  in  a  little  open  boat  from  Red 
River,  a  good  Scotch  iron  beam  plough.  The  next  winter,  when 
I  came  in  to  the  District  Meeting,  I  bought  a  bag  of  wheat 
containing  two  bushels  and  a  half ;  and  I  got  also  thirty-two 
iron  harrow  teeth.  I  dragged  these  things,  with  many  others, 
including  quite  an  assortment  of  garden  seeds,  on  my  dog-trains, 
all  the  way  to  Norway  House.  I  harnessed  eight  dogs  to  my 
plough,  and  ploughed  up  my  little  fields;  and,  after  making  a 
harrow,  I  harrowed  in  my  wheat  with  the  dogs.  The  first  year 
I  had  thirty  bushels  of  beautiful  wheat.  This  I  cut  with  a 
sickle,  and  then  thrashed  it  with  a  flail.  Mrs.  Young  sewed 
several  sheets  together,  and  one  day,  when  there  was  a  steady, 
gentle  breeze  blowing,  we  winnowed  the  chaff  from  the  wheat  in 
the  wind.  There  were  no  mills  within  hundreds  of  miles  of  us ; 
so  we  merely  cracked  the  wheat  in  a  hand  coffee-mill,  and  used 
some  of  it  for  porridge,  and  gave  the  rest  to  the  Indians,  who 
made  use  of  it  in  their  soups. 

Thus  we  laboured  with  them  and  for  them,  and  were  more  and 
more  encouraged,  as  the  years  rolled  on,  at  seeing  how  resolved 
they  were  to  improve  their  temporal  circumstances,  which  at  the 
best  were  not  to  be  envied. 

The  principal  article  of  food  was  fish.  The  nets  were  in  the 
water  from  the  time  the  ice  disappeared  in  May  until  it  returned 
in  October ;  and  often  were  holes  cut  in  the  ice,  and  nets  placed 
under  it,  for  this  staple  article  of  food. 

The  great  fall  fisheries  were  times  of  activity  and  anxiety,  as 


188  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

the  winter's  supply  of  food  depended  very  much  upon  the  numbers 
caught.  So  steady  and  severe  is  the  frost  at  Norway  House, 
and  at  all  the  Missions  north  of  it,  that  the  fish  caught  in 
October  and  the  early  part  of  November,  keep  frozen  solid  until 
April.  The  principal  fish  is  the  white  fish,  although  many  other 
varieties  abound. 

Each  Indian  family  endeavoured  to  secure  from  three  to  five 
thousand  fish,  each  fall,  for  the  winter's  supply.  For  my  own 
family  use,  and  more  especially  for  my  numerous  dogs,  which 
were  required  for  my  long  winter  trips  to  the  out  Mission  appoint- 
ments, I  used  to  endeavour  to  secure  not  less  than  ten  thousand 
fish.  It  is  fortunate  that  those  lakes  and  rivers  so  abound  in 
splendid  varieties  of  fish.  If  it  were  not  so,  the  Indians  could 
not  exist.  But,  providentially, 

"  The  teeming  sea  supplies 
The  food  the  niggard  soil  denies." 

Deer  of  several  varieties  abound,  and  also  other  animals,  the 
flesh  of  which  furnishes  nutritious  food.  But  all  supplies  of  food 
thus  obtained  are  insignificant  in  comparison  with  the  fish, 
which  the  Indians  are  able  to  obtain  except  in  the  severest 
weather. 

As  with  the  natives,  so  it  was  with  the  Missionaries;  the 
principal  article  of  food  upon  their  tables  was  fish.  During  the 
first  Kiel  Rebellion,  when  all  communication  with  the  interior  was 
cut  off,  and  our  supplies  could  not  as  usual  be  sent  out  to  us 
from  Red  River,  my  good  wife  and  I  lived  on  fish  twenty-one 
times  a  week,  for  nearly  six  months.  Of  course  there  were  times 
when  we  had  on  the  table,  in  addition  to  the  fish,  a  cooked  rabbit, 
or  it  may  be  a  piece  of  venison  or  bear's  meat.  However,  the 
great  "  stand-by,"  as  they  say  out  in  that  land,  was  the  fish. 

Every  summer  hundreds  of  Indians  from  other  places  visited 
us.  Some  came  in  their  small  canoes,  and  others  with  the 
Brigades,  which  in  those  days  travelled  vast  distances  with  their 
loads  of  rich  furs,  which  were  sent  down  to  York  Factory  on  the 
Hudson  Bay,  to  be  shipped  thence  to  England.  Sometimes  they 


DEPUTATIONS  OF  INDIANS.  189 

remained  several  weeks  between  the  trading  post  and  the  Mission. 
Very  frequent  were  the  conversations  we  had  with  these  wander- 
ing red  men  about  the  Great  Spirit  and  the  Great  Book. 

Some,  full  of  mischief,  and  at  times  unfortunately  full  of  rum, 
used  to  come  to  annoy  and  disturb  us.  One  summer  a  band  of 
Athabasca  Indians  so  attacked  our  Mission  House  that  for  three 
days  and  nights  we  were  as  in  a  state  of  siege.  Unfortunately 
for  us  our  own  loyal  able-bodied  Indian  men  were  all  away  as 
trip  men,  and  the  few  at  the  Mission  village  were  powerless 
to  help.  Our  lives  were  in  jeopardy,  and  they  came  very  near 
burning  down  the  premises. 

Shortly  after  these  Athabasca  Indians  had  left  us  I  saw 
a  large  boatload  of  men  coming  across  the  lake  towards  our 
village.  Imagining  them  to  be  some  of  these  same  disturbers,  I 
hastily  rallied  all  the  old  men  I  could,  and  went  down  Tbo  the 
shore,  to  keep  them,  if  possible,  from  landing.  Yery  agreeable 
indeed  was  my  surprise  to  find  that  they  were  a  band  of  earnest 
seekers  after  the  Great  Light,  who  had  come  a  long  distance  to 
see  and  talk  with  me.  Gladly  did  I  lead  them  to  the  Mission 
House,  and  until  midnight  I  endeavoured  to  preach  to  them 
Jesus.  They  came  a  distance  of  over  three  hundred  miles ;  but 
in  that  far-off  district  had  met  in  their  wanderings  some  of 
our  Christian  Indians  from  Norway  House,  who,  always  carrying 
their  Bibles  with  them,  had,  by  reading  to  them  and  praying 
with  them,  under  the  good  Spirit's  influence,  implanted  in  their 
hearts  longing  desires  after  the  great  salvation.  They  were 
literally  hungering  and  thirsting  after  salvation.  Before  they 
left  for  their  homes,  they  were  all  baptized.  Their  importunate 
request  to  me  on  leaving  was  the  same  as  that  of  many  others : 
"  Do  come  and  visit  us  in  our  own  land,  and  tell  us  and  our 
families  more  of  these  blessed  truths." 

From  God's  Lake,  which  is  sixty  miles  from  Oxford  Lake,  a 
deputation  of  eleven  Indians  came  to  see  me.  They  had  travelled 
the  whole  distance  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  miles  in  order  that 
they  might  hear  the  Gospel,  and  get  from  me  a  supply  of  Bibles, 
Hymn-books,  and  Catechisms.  One  of  them  had  been  baptized 
and  taught  years  ago  by  the  Rev.  R.  Brooking.  His  life  and 


190  BY  CANOE  AND    DOG-TRAIN. 

teachings  had  made  the  others  eager  for  this  blessed  way,  and 
so  he  brought  these  hungry  sheep  in  the  wilderness  that  long 
distance  that  they  might  have  the  truth  explained  to  them  more 
perfectly,  and  he  baptised.  As  it  had  been  with  the  others 
who  came  from  a  different  direction,  so  it  was  with  these.  Their 
earnest,  oft-repeated  entreaty  was,  "Come  and  visit  us  and 
ours  in  our  far-away  homes." 

A  few  weeks  after,  another  boatload  of  men  called  to  have 
a  talk  with  me.  They  seated  themselves  on  the  grass  in  front 
of  the  Mission  House,  and  at  first  acted  as  though  they  expected 
me  to  begin  the  conversation.  I  found  out  very  soon  that  they 
were  Saulteaux,  and  had  come  from  Beren's  River,  about  a 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  away.  After  a  few  words  as  to  their 
health  and  families  had  passed  between  us,  an  old  man,  who 
seemed  to  be  the  spokesman  of  the  party,  said,  "  Well,  Ayume- 
aookemou"  ("praying  master,"  the  Missionary's  name),  "  do  you 
remember  your  words  of  three  summers  ago  ?  " 

"  What  were  my  words  of  three  summers  ago  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Why,"  he  replied,  "  your  words  were  that  you  would  write  to 
the  Keche-ayumeaookemou "  (the  great  praying  masters,  the 
Missionary  Secretaries)  "for  a  Missionary  for  us." 

When  I  first  passed  through  their  country,  they  with  tears  in 
their  eyes  had  begged  for  a  Missionary.  I  had  been  much  moved 
by  their  appeals,  and  had  written  to  the  Mission  House  about 
them  and  for  them,  but  all  in  vain.  None  had  come  to  labour 
among  them. 

For  my  answer  to  this  old  man's  words  I  translated  a  copy  of 
my  letter,  which  had  been  published,  and  in  which  I  had  strongly 
urged  their  claims  for  a- Missionary.  They  all  listened  attentively 
to  the  end,  and  then  the  old  man  sprang  up  and  said,  "  We  all 
thank  you  for  sending  that  word,  but  where  is  the  Missionary  ?  " 
I  was  lost  for  an  answer,  for  I  felt  that  I  was  being  asked  by 
this  hungering  soul  the  most  important  question  that  can  be 
heard  by  the  Christian  Church,  to  whom  God  has  committed  the 
great  work  of  the  world's  evangelisation. 

"  WHERE  is  THE  MISSIONARY  3 "  The  question  thrilled  me,  and 
I  went  down  before  it  like  the  reed  before  the  storm.  I  coujd 


WHERE  IS   THE  MISSIONARY!"  191 

only  weep  and  say,  "Lord,  have  mercy  upon  me  and  on  the 
apathetic  Christian  world." 

That  was  the  hardest  question  a  human  being  ever  asked  me. 
To  tell  him  of  a  want  of  men,  or  a  lack  of  money,  to  carry  the 
glad  tidings  of  salvation  to  him  and  his  people,  would  only  have 
filled  his  mind  with  doubts  as  to  the  genuineness  of  the  religion 
enjoyed  by  a  people  so  numerous  and  rich  as  he  knew  the  whites 
were.  So  I  tried  to  give  them  some  idea  of  the  world's  popula- 
tion, and  the  vast  number  yet  unconverted  to  Christianity.  I 
told  him  the  Churches  were  at  work  in  many  places  and  among 
many  nations,  but  that  many  years  would  pass  away  before  all 
the  world  would  be  supplied  with  Missionaries. 

"  How  many  winters  will  pass  by  before  that  time  comes  I "  he 
asked. 

"  A  great  many,  I  fear,"  was  my  answer. 

He  put  his  hands  through  his  long  hair,  once  as  black  as  a 
raven's  wing,  but  now  becoming  silvered,  and  replied :  "  These 
white  hairs  show  that  I  have  lived  many  winters,  and  am  getting 
old.  My  countrymen  at  Red  River  on  the  south  of  us,  and  here 
at  Norway  House  on  the  north  of  us,  have  Missionaries,  and 
churches,  and  schools ;  and  we  have  none.  I  do  not  wish  to  die 
until  we  have  a  church  and  a  school." 

The  story  of  this  old  man's  appeal  woke  up  the  good  people  of 
the  Churches,  and  something  was  soon  done  for  these  Indians.  I 
visited  them  twice  a  year  by  canoe  and  dog-train,  and  found  them 
anxious  for  religious  instruction  and  progress. 

At  first  I  sent  to  live  among  them  my  faithful  interpreter, 
Timothy  Bear.  He  worked  faithfully  and  did  good  service.  He 
was  not  a  strong  man  physically,  and  -  could  not  stand  much 
exposure.  To  live  in,  he  had  my  large  leather  tent,  which  was 
made  of  the  prepared  skins  of  the  buffalo.  One  night  a  great 
tornado  swept  over  the  country,  and  Timothy's  tent  was  carried 
away,  and  then  the  drenching  rains  fell  upon  him  and  his.  A 
severe  cold  resulted,  and  when  word  reached  me  several  weeks 
after  at  Norway  House,  it  was  that  my  trusted  friend  was  hope- 
lessly ill,  but  was  still  endeavouring  to  keep  at  his  duties. 

So  great  was  my  anxiety  to  go  and  comfort  him  that  I  started 


WE   EXCHANGED   OUR   BLACK   CLOTHES   FOR   OUR   LEATHER  SUITS"    (p.   126). 


II.  -SIX  HUNDRED  YARDS  IS  A  LONG  SHOT,  BUT  WILD  CAT  IS  POOR  FOOD,  AND 
SO  WE  WILL  TRY  FOR  SOMETHING  BETTER. 


194  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

out  with  my  dog-trains  so  soon  after  the  winter  set  in  that  that 
trip  very  nearly  proved  to  be  my  last.  The  greater  part  of  that 
journey  was  performed  upon  Lake  Winnipeg.  Very  frequently 
on  the  northern  end  of  that  lake  the  ice,  which  there  forms  first, 
is  broken  up  by  the  fierce  winds  from  the  southern  end,  which, 
being  three  hundred  miles  further  south,  remains  open  several 
days  longer.  I  had  with  me  two  Indians, — one  was  an  old 
experienced  man,  named  William  Cochran ;  the  other  a  splendid 
specimen  of  physical  manhood,  named  Felix. 

When  we  reached  Lake  Winnipeg,  as  far  as  we  could  judge 
by  the  appearance  of  the  ice,  it  must  have  formed  three  times, 
and  then  have  been  broken  up  by  the  storms.  The  broken 
masses  were  piled  up  in  picturesque  ridges  along  the  shore,  or 
frozen  together  in  vast  fields  extending  for  many  miles.  Over 
these  rough  ice-fields,  where  great  pieces  of  ice,  from  five  to 
twenty  feet  high,  were  thrown  at  every  angle,  and  then  frozen 
solid,  we  travelled  for  two  days.  Both  men  and  dogs  suffered 
a  great  deal  from  falls  and  bruises.  Our  feet  at  times  were 
bruised  and  bleeding.  Just  about  daybreak,  on  our  third  day, 
as  we  pushed  out  from  our  camp  in  the  woods  where  we  had 
passed  the  night,  when  we  had  got  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  shore,  Felix  was  delighted  to  find  smooth  ice.  He  was 
guiding  at  the  time.  He  put  on  his  skates  and  bounded  off 
quickly,  and  was  soon  followed  by  the  dogs,  who  seemed  as 
delighted  as  he  that  the  rough  ice  had  all  been  passed,  and  now 
there  was  a  possibility  of  getting  on  with  speed  and  comfort. 

Just  as  I  was  congratulating  myself  on  the  fact  of  our  having 
reached  good  ice,  and  that  now  there  was  a  prospect  of  soon 
reaching  my  sick  Indian  brother,  a  cry  of  terror  came  from 
William,  the  experienced  Indian  who  was  driving  our  provision 
sled  behind  mine. 

"  This  ice  is  bad,  and  we  are  sinking,"  he  shouted. 

Thinking  the  best  way  for  me  was  to  stop  I  checked  my  dogs, 
and  at  once  began  to  sink. 

"  Keep  moving,  but  make  for  the  shore,"  was  the  instant  cry 
of  the  man  behind. 

T  shouted  to  my  splendid,  well-trained  dogs,  and  they  at  once 


Ail. — COME,    SHARE   WITH   ME   OUR   SAVOURY  VENISON. 


19«  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

responded  to  the  command  given,  and  bounded  towards  the  shore 
Fortunately  the  ice  was  strong  enough  to  hold  the  dogs  up, 
although  under  the  sled  it  bent  and  cracked,  and  in  some  places 
broke  through. 

Very  grateful  were  we  when  we  got  back  to  the  rough  strong 
ice  near  the  shore.  In  quiet  tones  we  spoke  a  few  words  of  con- 
gratulation to  each  other,  and  lifted  up  our  hearts  in  gratitude 
to  our  great  Preserver,  and  then  hurried  on.  If  we  had  broken 
in,  we  could  have  received  no  earthly  aid,  as  there  was  not 
even  a  wigwam  within  a  day's  journey  of  us. 

That  night  at  the  camp-fire  I  overheard  William  saying  to 
Felix,  "  I  am  ashamed  of  ourselves  for  not  having  taken  better 
care  of  our  Missionary." 

We  found  Timothy  very  sick  indeed.  We  ministered  to  his 
comfort,  and  had  it  then  in  our  power  so  to  arrange  that,  while 
the  work  should  not  suffer,  he  could  have  rest  and  quiet.  His 
success  had  been  very  marked,  and  the  old  Saulteaux  rejoiced 
that  he  and  the  rest  of  them  were  to  be  neglected  no  longer. 
He  had  made  such  diligent  progress  himself  in  spiritual  things 
that  I  gladly  baptized  him  and  his  household. 

There  were  times  when  our  supplies  ran  very  short,  and  hunger 
and  suffering  had  to  be  endured.  During  the  first  Kiel  Rebellion, 
when  we  were  cut  off  from  access  to  the  outside  world,  we  were 
entirely  dependent  upon  our  nets  and  guns  for  a  long  time.  Our 
artist  has  tried  to  tell  a  story  in  three  pictures. 

At  the  breakfast  table  we  had  nothing  to  eat  but  the  hind- 
quarter  of  a  wild  cat.  It  was  very  tough  and  tasteless ;  and 
while  we  were  trying  to  make  our  breakfast  from  it,  Mrs.  Young 
said,  "  My  dear,  unless  you  shoot  something  for  dinner,  I  am 
afraid  there  will  be  none." 

So  I  took  down  my  rifle,  and  tied  on  my  snow-shoes,  and 
started  off  looking  for  game.  See  Picture  I.  Pictures  II.  and  III,. 
tell  the  rest  of  the  story. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

SMALL-POX  PESTILENCE — HEROIC  CONDUCT  OP  CHRISTIAN  INDIANS- 
WHITES  SUPPLIED  WITH  PROVISIONS  BY  RED  MEN— THE  GUIDE, 
SAMUEL  PAPANEKIS — HIS  TRIUMPHANT  DEATH — NANCY,  THE  HAPPY 
WIDOW — IN  POVERTY,  YET  REJOICING. 

WE  were  very  much  shocked,  during  the  early  spring,  to  hear 
that  that  terrible  disease,  the  small-pox,  had  broken  out 
among  the  Indians  on  the  great  plains  of  tlie  Saskatchewan. 

It  seems  to  have  been  brought  into  the  country  by  some  white 
traders  coming  up  from  the  State  of  Montana.  When  once  it 
had  got  amongst  them,  it  spread  with  amazing  rapidity  and 
fatality.  To  make  matters  worse,  one  of  the  tribes  of  Indians, 
being  at  war  with  another,  secretly  carried  some  of  the  infected 
clothing,  which  had  been  worn  by  their  own  dead  friends,  into 
the  territory  of  those  with  whom  they  were  at  war,  and  left 
it  where  it  could  be  easily  found  and  carried  off.  In  this  way 
the  disease  was  communicated  to  this  second  tribe,  and  thousands 
of  them  died  from  it. 

Every  possible  precaution  against  the  spread  of  this  terrible 
destroyer  was  taken  by  the  Missionaries,.  Messrs.  McDougall  and 
Campbell,  aided  by  their  Christian  people.  But,  in  spite  of  all 
their  efforts,  it  continued  cutting  down  both  whites  and  Indians. 
To  save  some  of  his  people  Mr.  McDougall  got  the  Indians  of  his 
Victoria  Mission  to  leave  their  homes  and  scatter  themselves  over 
the  great  prairies,  where,  he  hoped,  they  would,  by  being  isolated, 
escape  the  contagion.  The  pagan  Indians,  rendered  desperate 
under  the  terrible  scourge  which  was  so  rapidly  cutting  them 
off,  and  being  powerless  to  check  it,  resolved  to  wreak  their 


198  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

vengeance  upon  the  defenceless  whites.  So  they  sent  a  band  of 
warriors  to  destroy  every  white  person  in  the  country.  The  first 
place  they  reached,  where  dwelt  any  of  the  palefaces,  was  the 
Victoria  Mission  on  the  Saskatchewan  River.  Indian-like,  they 
did  not  openly  attack,  but,  leaving  the  greater  number  of  their 
warriors  in  ambush  in  the  long  grass,  a  few  of  them  sauntered 
into  the  Mission  House.  Here,  to  their  surprise,  they  found  that 
the  small-pox  had  entered,  and  some  of  the  inmates  of  the  home 
had  died.  Quickly  and  quietly  they  glided  away,  and  told  their 
comrades  what  they  had  seen.  A  hasty  consultation  was  held, 
and  they  decided  that  it  could  not  have  been  the  Missionary  who 
had  control  of  the  disease;  for,  if  he  had,  he  would  not  have 
allowed  it  to  have  killed  his  own.  They  then  decided  it  must 
have  been  the  fur- traders,  and  so  they  started  for  the  trading 
post.  Here  they  pursued  the  same  tactics,  and  found  to  their 
surprise  that  a  Mr.  Clarke,  the  gentleman  in  charge  of  that  place, 
had  fallen  a  victim.  Another  hasty  council  made  them  think 
that  they  had  been  mistaken,  and  so  they  quickly  returned  to 
their  own  country  without  having  injured  any  one. 

But  the  Missionary  and  his  family  were  surrounded  by  perils. 
The  Indians  were  excited  and  unsettled,  and  their  old  pagan 
conjurers  were  ever  ready  to  incite  them  to  deeds  of  violence. 
The  restraining  power  of  God  alone  saved  them  from  massacre. 
Once  the  Missionary's  wife  and  some  of  the  family  were  at  work 
in  the  garden,  while  secreted  in  the  long  grass  not  a  hundred 
yards  from  them  lay  eleven  Blackfeet,  who  had  come  to  murder 
and  pillage  the  place,  but,  as  they  afterwards  acknowledged, 
were  strangely  restrained  from  firing.  At  another  time  some  of 
the  fierce  warriors  of  this  same  bloodthirsty  tribe  crawled  through 
a  field  of  barley,  and  for  a  long  time  watched  the  movements 
of  the  family,  and  then  noiselessly  retired,  doing  no  harm  to 
any  one.  To  hear  the  ping  of  a  bullet  as  it  passed  in  close 
proximity  to  the  head  was  no  very  rare  event  in  the  lives  of 
several  of  the  early  Missionaries  among  the  excited  pagans. 

While  the  small-pox  was  raging  in  the  Great  Saskatchewan 
country,  strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  prevent  its  spreading  to 


SMALL-POX  PESTILENCE. 


199 


other  districts.  Manitoba  had  now  been  formed  into  a  province, 
and  was  filling  up  with  white  settlers.  The  old  name,  Fort 
Garry,  had  been  changed  to  Winnipeg,  and  this  place  was 
rapidly  growing  into  a  prosperous  town.  From  Fort  Garry 
long  trains  of  Red  River  carts  had  been  in  the  habit  of  going 
for  years  with  the  supplies  needed  in  the  far-off  Saskatchewan 


DOG-TRAIN  WITH   MAIL   (p.  200). 

country.  These  carts  were  made  without  having  in  their  con- 
struction a  single  piece  of  iron.  The  Half-breeds  or  Indian  drivers 
never  oiled  or  greased  them,  and  the  result  was  they  could  be 
heard  about  as  far  as  seen,  even  on  the  level  prairies.  Each  cart 
was  drawn  by  one  ox,  and  was  supposed  to  carry  from  eight 
to  twelve  hundred  pounds  of  supplies,  in  addition  to  the  food 


200  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

and  outfit  of  the  driver,  who  was  always  expected  to  walk.  This 
freighting  by  carts  on  the  prairies  is  the  counterpart  of  trans- 
porting goods  by  open  boats  or  canoes  in  the  northern  rivers,  to 
which  we  have  elsewhere  referred.  The  arrival  of  the  brigade  of 
carts  with  the  supplies,  and  the  news  from  the  outside  world,  was 
the  great  event  of  the  year  in  the  early  times  at  those  lonely 
prairie  settlements. 

But  stern  measures  had  to  be  adopted  in  this  year  of  the 
small-pox  plague.  A  proclamation  was  issued  by  the  Governor 
of  the  Province  of  Manitoba,  absolutely  prohibiting  any  trade 
or  communication  in  any  way  with  the  infected  district.  Not 
a  single  cart  or  traveller  was  permitted  to  go  on  the  trail.  This 
meant  a  good  deal  of  suffering  and  many  privations  for  the 
isolated  Missionaries  and  traders  and  other  whites  who,  for 
purposes  of  settlement  or  adventure,  had  gone  into  that  remote 
interior  country. 

As  it  was,  only  twice  a  year  in  many  places  did  the  lonely 
Missionaries  hear  from  the  outside  world.  Then  the  mail-carrier 
was  very  welcome,  whether  he  came  by  canoe  or  dog-train. 

Although  there  were  still  plenty  of  buffalo  on  the  plains,  it 
was  well  known  that  the  ammunition  was  about  exhausted,  as 
well  as  all  other  supplies,  including  medicines,  now  so  much 
needed.  Some  interested  parties  vainly  urged  the  Governor  to 
relent  and  allow  some  supplies  to  be  sent  in.  But,  conscious  of 
the  risks  that  would  be  run  of  the  pestilence  reaching  the  province 
over  which  he  governed,  he  remained  firm,  while  he  felt  for 
those  who  necessarily  must  suffer. 

"  What  can  be  done  to  aid  those  unfortunate  ones,  who,  in 
addition  to  their  sorrows  and  troubles  incident  to  the  ravages  of 
the  small-pox  among  them,  are  now  to  be  exposed  to  pinching 
famine  and  want  ? "  was  the  question  that  sympathising  friends 
were  asking  each  other.  As  a  last  resort  it  was  decided  to  appeal 
to  the  Norway  House  Christian  Indians,  and  ask  them  to  form 
a  brigade  of  boats,  and  take  the  much-needed  supplies  up  the 
mighty  Saskatchewan  River,  where  they  could  be  reached  b) 
those  needing  them. 

To  me,  as  Missionary  of  these  Indians,  Mr.  Stewart,  the  highest 


RE\r.   EDWARD  PAPANEKIS  AND  FAMILY. 


202  ST   CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

official  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  came ;  and  we  talked  the 
matter  over,  and  the  risks  which  the  Indians,  not  one  of  whom 
had  been  vaccinated,  must  run  in  going  on  such  a  perilous  journey. 
They  would  have  to  go  hundreds  of  miles  through  the  disease- 
stricken  land  where  hundreds  had  died.  But  it  seemed  essential 
that  something  must  be  done,  and  there  were  possibilities  that 
the  Indians,  by  acting  very  wisely,  could  escape  infection :  so  we 
decided  to  call  them  together,  and  see  what  they  would  do  in  this 
emergency. 

When  the  church  bell  was  rung,  and  the  people  had  assembled 
together  in  their  Council  house,  wondering  what  was  the  matter, 
I  described  the  sad  circumstances  to  them,  and  then  presented 
the  request,  that  one  hundred  and  sixty  of  them  should  take 
twenty  boats  loaded  with  supplies,  and  go  up  the  Saskatchewan, 
to  save  these  white  people  from  starving.  I  said  to  these  con- 
verted Indians,  my  own  people  : 

"  I  know  your  race  on  this  continent  has  not  always  been  fairly 
treated  :  but  never  mind  that.  Here  is  a  grand  opportunity  for 
you  to  do  a  glorious  act,  and  to  show  to  the  world  and  to  the  good 
Lord,  Whose  children  you  are,  that  you  can  make  sacrifices  and 
run  risks  when  duty  calls,  as  well  as  the  whites  can." 

We  told  them  that  there  was  a  possibility  that  they,  by  keep- 
ing in  the  middle  of  the  great  river  all  the  time,  and  never  going 
ashore,  might  all  escape.  They  would  be  provided  with  abundance 
of  food ;  so  they  need  not  go  ashore  to  hunt.  Then  we  asked, 
"Are  you  willing  to  run  the  risk,  and  avail  yourselves  of  this 
chance  to  do  a  glorious  act  ?  "  Turning  to  one  of  the  most  trusted 
guides  in  the  country,  one  of  my  best  Class- Leaders,  I  said : 
"  Samuel  Papanekis,  you  are  to  be  the  guide  and  leader  of  this 
party."  He  was  a  son  of  the  old  centenarian,  and  brother  of  the 
Rev.  Edward  Papanekis,  now  our  Missionary  at  Oxford  House 
Mission. 

He  seemed  at  first  a  little  startled  by  the  responsibility  of  the 
position,  and  after  a  moment's  thought  quietly  said :  "  Will  you 
give  us  a  little  time  to  talk  it  over  ]  "  So  we  left  them  to  discuss 

o 

the  matter  among  themselves.  When  they  sent  us  word  that 
they  had  their  answer  ready,  we  returned,  and  he  said :  "  Mis- 


HEROIC  INDIANS.  203 

sionary,  we  have  talked  it  over,  and  have  decided  to  go  to  take 
the  supplies  to  our  suffering  white  brothers  and  their  families. 
But  will  you  let  us  have  one  more  Sunday  at  the  church,  and 
will  you  give  us  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  ere  we  start 
upon  the  dangerous  journey  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  I  said,  "  it  will  take  several  days  to  get  your  loads  and 
boats  ready,  and  so  we  will  have  another  blessed  day  of  rest  and 
hallowed  worship  together." 

It  was  a  memorable  Sabbath.  Every  man,  woman,  and  child 
who  could  come  to  church,  seemed  to  be  there.  Some  of  the 
women  wept  as  they  thought  of  the  risks  their  husbands,  or 
brothers,  or  sons  were  running.  Others  of  them  seemed  to  catch 
the  spirit  of  the  men,  and  felt  proud  that  those  they  loved  were 
willing  to  undertake  so  brave  and  noble  a  work. 

At  the  close  of  the  morning  service  we  had  the  Sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  Supper.  It  was  very  solemn  and  impressive.  As  they 
came  forward  and  partook  of  the  emblems  of  their  dear  Lord's 
dying  love,  the  recollection  of  His  self-sacrifice  and  disinterested 
kindness  seemed  to  come  very  vividly  before  us  all,  and  there 
was  in  many  hearts  a  kind  of  exultant  joy  that  they  were 
counted  worthy  to  run  some  risks  for  the  sake  of  doing  good. 

No  foolish  boastfulness,  or  desire  to  seek  for  sympathy,  cha- 
racterised their  utterances  at  the  afternoon  service,  at  which  we 
met  again  in  a  Testimony  or  Fellowship  Meeting.  Some  made 
no  reference  at  all  to  the  work  before  them;  others  asked  for 
our  prayers  for  them ;  and  others,  well  taught  in  the  Word  of 
God,  with  the  hallowed  influences  of  the  morning  sacramental 
service  still  resting  upon  them,  thought  that  they  ought  to  rejoice 
when  there  were  chances  for  getting  into  this  spirit,  so  as  to  be 
partakers  of  Christ's  sufferings,  or  companions  in  tribulation  with 
such  a  Friend,  so  that  when  His  glory  should  be  revealed,  they 
also  might  rejoice,  as  He  has  taught  us :  "  If  we  suffer  with 
Him,"  we  shall  "  also  be  glorified  together." 

Two  or  three  days  after  this  they  started  on  their  long, 
dangerous  journey.  They  had  twenty  boats  well  loaded  with 
supplies,  each  manned  by  eight  Indians,  and  all  under  the  guid- 
ance of  Samuel  Papanekis,  whom  they  were  expected  to  implicitly 


204  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

obey.  They  went  up  the  fine  river  that  passes  by  Norway  House, 
until  they  entered  into  Lake  Winnipeg.  From  this  place  they 
skirted  around  the  north-western  shore  of  this  great  lake,  until 
they  reached  the  mouth  of  tlie  Saskatchewan  River.  Up  this 
great  river  they  had  to  row  their  boats  against  the  current  for 
many  hundreds  of  miles  That  summer  was  an  exceedingly  hot 
one,  yet  for  weeks  together  these  gallant  fellows  tugged  away  at 
their  heavy  oars.  For  a  few  short  hours  of  rest  during  the  night 
they  anchored  their  boats  in  mid-stream,  and  then  at  first  blush 
of  morning  they  continued  their  journey.  Wild  beasts  were 
sometimes  seen  walking  on  the  shores  or  quenching  their  thirst 
in  the  river.  The  hunting  instincts  of  the  younger  Indian  boat- 
men were  so  strong  that  they  begged  to  be  allowed  to  fire ;  but 
Samuel,  ever  on  the  alert,  and  seeing  the  danger,  always  positively 
refused. 

When  the  Sabbaths  came  they  anchored  their  boats  as  close 
together  as  possible  near  the  middle  of  the  river  on  some  shoal 
or  shallow  spot,  such  as  abound  in  this  great  river  of  shifting 
sand  bars.  Here  they  spent  their  quiet,  restful  days,  having 
prayers  and  a  couple  of  religious  services  each  Sunday. 

Ere  they  reached  the  place  where  they  were  to  deliver  their 
precious  cargoes,  the  river  passed  through  many  miles  of  the 
plague-stricken  country.  They  could  see  on  the  shores  the 
deserted  wigwams,  in  which  all  the  inmates  had  fallen  victims 
to  the  fell  destroyer,  or  had,  panic-stricken,  fled  away. 

Very  long  seemed  that  summer,  and  great  indeed  was  our 
solicitude,  and  many  were  our  prayers  for  these  noble  men,  from 
whom  we  did  not  hear  a  single  word  during  the  whole  time  of 
their  absence.  After  being  away  for  about  ten  weeks,  they  came 
back  amidst  a  doxology  of  thanksgiving  and  gratitude.  All  of 
them  were  happy  and  in  vigorous  health,  with  the  exception  of 
the  guide.  The  strain  and  anxiety  upon  him  had  been  too  much, 
and  he  was  never  the  same  man  after.  The  others  said,  "  Samuel 
seemed  to  be  everywhere,  and  to  watch  every  movement  with 
almost  sleepless  vigilance."  Realising  how  great  the  respon- 
sibilities were  upon  him,  he  determined,  if  untiring  devotion  to 
his  work  would  enable  him  to  rescue  those  suffering  whites,  and 


DEATH   OF  THE  GUIDE.  205 

then  return  with  his  large  brigade  uncontaminated  by  the  disease, 
it  should  be  done. 

He  succeeded,  but  at  the  price  of  his  own  life,  for  he  only  came 
home  to  linger  a  while  and  then  to  die.  His  indomitable  will-power 
kept  him  up  until  he  saw  the  last  boat  safely  moored  in  our  quiet 
harbour,  and  witnessed  the  loving  greetings  between  his  stalwart 
crews  and  their  happy  families.  He  joined  with  us  all  in  the 
blessed  thanksgiving  service  in  our  overflowing  sanctuary,  where 
with  glad  hearts  we  sang  together : 

"  And  are  we  yet  alive, 

And  see  each  other's  face  f 
Glory  and  praise  to  Jesus  give 

For  His  redeeming  grace  ; 

Preserved  by  power  Divine 

To  full  salvation  here, 
Again  in  Jesu's  praise  we  join, 

And  in  His  sight  appear." 

Then  he  began  to  droop  and  wither,  and  in  spite  of  all  that  we, 
or  the  kind  Hudson's  Bay  officials,  who  were  very  much  attached 
to  him,  could  do  for  him,  he  seemed  almost  visibly  to  slip  away 
from  us. 

By-and-by  the  end  drew  near.  It  was  a  beautiful  day,  and 
as  he  had  some  difficulty  in  breathing,  at  his  own  request  a 
wigwam  was  prepared,  and  he  was  well  wrapped  up  and  gently 
lifted  out  of  his  house  and  placed  upon  a  bed  of  balsam  boughs 
covered  with  robes.  He  seemed  grateful  for  the  change,  and 
appeared  a  little  easier  for  a  time.  We  talked  of  Jesus,  and 
heaven,  and  "  the  abundant  entrance,"  and  "  the  exceeding  great 
and  precious  promises."  Then  he  dropped  off  in  a  quiet  slumber. 
Soon  after,  he  awoke  with  a  consciousness  that  the  time  of  his 
departure  had  come,  and  laid  himself  out  to  die.  Bending  over 
him,  I  said,  "  Samuel,  this  is  death  that  has  come  for  you  !  Tell 
me  how  it  is  with  you."  His  hearing  had  partly  left  him,  and 
so  he  did  not  understand  me.  Speaking  more  loudly  I  said, 
"  Samuel,  my  brother,  you  are  in  the  Valley  of  the  Shadow  of 
Death ;  how  is  it  with  you  ? " 

His  eye  brightened,  and  his  look  told  me  he  had  understood  my 


206  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

question.  He  lifted  up  his  thin,  emaciated  arm,  and,  seeming  to 
clasp  hold  of  something,  he  said,  "  Missionary,  I  am  holding  on 
to  God ;  He  is  my  all  of  joy  and  hope  and  happiness."  Then  the 
arm  fell  nerveless,  and  my  triumphant  Indian  brother  was  in 
the  Better  Land. 

Perhaps  I  cannot  find  a  better  place  than  here  to  refer  to 
Samuel's  widow  and  children,  and  an  interview  I  had  with  them. 

They  moved  away,  shortly  after  his  death,  from  his  house  in 
the  Mission  village,  and  took  up  their  abode  with  several  other 
families  up  the  river  beyond  the  Fort,  several  miles  from  the 
village.  We  had  visited  them  and  substantially  aided  them  up 
to  the  time  of  their  moving  away,  but  for  a  while  I  had  not  met 
them,  except  at  the  services,  and  so  did  not  know  how  they  were 
prospering.  When  the  cold  winter  set  in,  I  arranged  with  my 
good  Brother  Semmens  that  we  would  take  our  dog-trains  and 
go  and  make  pastoral  visits  among  all  the  Indian  families  on  the 
outskirts,  and  find  out  how  they  were  prospering,  temporally  and 
spiritually.  It  was  ever  a  great  joy  to  them  when  \ve  visited 
them,  and  by  our  inquiries  about  their  fishing  and  hunting, 
and  other  simple  affairs,  showed  we  were  interested  in  these 
things,  and  rejoiced  with  them  when  they  could  tell  of  success, 
and  sympathised  with  them  when  they  had  met  with  loss  or 
disaster.  Then  they  listened  reverently  when  we  read  from  the 
blessed  Word,  and  prayed  with  them  in  their  humble  homes. 

One  bitterly  cold  day  towards  evening  we  drove  up  to  a  very 
poor  little  house.  We  knocked  at  the  door,  and  in  answer  to  a 
cheery  "  Astum," — the  Indian  for  "  Come  in," — we  entered  the 
little  abode.  Our  hearts  sank  within  us  at  the  evidences  of  the 
poverty  of  the  inmates.  The  little  building  was  made  of  poplar  logs, 
the  interstices  of  which  were  filled  up  with  moss  and  clay.  The 
floor  was  of  the  native  earth,  and  there  was  not  a  piece  of  furni- 
ture in  the  abode,  not  a  table,  chair,  or  bedstead.  In  one  corner 
of  the  room  was  an  earthen  fireplace,  and,  huddled  around  a  poor 
fire  in  it,  there  sat  a  widow  with  a  large  family  of  children,  one 
of  whom  was  a  cripple. 

We  said  a  few  words  of  kindly  greeting  to  the  family,  and 
then,  looking  round  on  the  destitute  home,  I  said  sorrowfully, 


HAPPY  NANCY. 


207 


"  Nancy,  you  seem  to  be  very  poor ;  you  don't  seem  to  have  any- 
thing to  make  you  happy  and  comfortable."  Very  quickly  came 
the  response, — and  it  was  in  a  very  much  more  cheery  strain  than 
iny  words  had  been, — 

"  I  have  not  got  much,  but  I  am  not  unhappy,  Missionary." 

"  You  poor  creature,"  I  replied,  "  you  don't  seem  to  have  any- 
thing to  make  you  comfortable." 

"  I  have  but  little,"  she  said  quietly. 

"  Have  you  any  venison? " 


FISHING   THROUGH  THE  ICB    {p.  i.Uo). 

"  No ! " 

"  Have  you  any  flour  ? " 

"  No  ! " 

"  Have  you  any  tea  ?  * 

"No!" 

"  Have  you  any  potatoes  ?  * 

When  this  last  question  of  mine  was  uttered,  the  poor  woman 
looked  up  at  me,  for  she  was  the  widow  of  Samuel  Papanekis, 
and  this  was  her  answer :  "  T  have  no  potatoes,  for,  don't  you 


208  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

remember,  at  the  time  of  potato  planting  Samuel  took  charge 
of  the  brigade  that  went  up  with  provisions  to  save  the  poor 
white  people  ?  And  Samuel  is  not  here  to  shoot  deer,  that  I  may 
have  venison ;  and  Samuel  is  not  here  to  catch  mink  and  marten 
and  beaver  and  other  things  to  exchange  for  flour  and  tea." 

"What  have  you  got,  poor  woman?"  I  said  with  my  heart 
full  of  sorrow. 

She  replied,  "  I  have  got  a  couple  of  fish-nets." 
"  What  did  you  do  when  it  was  too  stormy  to  visit  the  nets? " 
"  Sometimes  some  of  the  men  from  the  other  houses  visited 
them  for  me,  and  would  bring  me  the  fish.     Then  we  sometimes 
get  some  by  fishing  through  the  ice." 

"  What  about  when  it  was  too  stormy  for  any  one  to  go  ? " 
She  quietly  said,  "  If  nothing  were  left,  we  go  without  anything." 
As  I  looked  at  her  and  her  large  family  of  fatherless  children, 
and  then  thought  of  her  husband's  triumphant  death,  and  his 
glorious  transfer  to  that  blest  abode,  where  "  they  shall  hunger 
no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more,"  and  where  "  God  shall  wipe 
away  all  tears  from  their  eyes,"  the  contrast  between  the  husband 
and  father  in  his  felicity,  and  the  sorrow  of  the  widow  and 
children  in  their  poverty,  so  affected  me  that,  to  hide  my  emotion 
and  keep  back  my  tears,  I  hurried  out  of  the  room,  following  my 
loving  Brother  Semmens,  who  was,  if  possible,  more  deeply  moved 
than  I  was.  We  had  gone  into  that  house  to  pray,  but  we  could 
not.  There  must  be  tangible  sympathy  given  ere  we  could  look 
to  a  higher  source. 

My  brother  had  reached  the  cariole,  which  was  a  few  yards 
away,  and  I  was  not  far  behind,  when  the  word,  "  Ayumeaooke- 
mou,"  ("  Praying  master,")  arrested  my  hurrying  steps.  I  turned 
back,  and  there,  just  outside  of  the  door,  was  Nancy.  With  a 
woman's  quick  intuition  to  read  the  feelings  of  the  heart  from  the 
face  and  voice,  she  had  followed  me  out,  and  her  words,  as  nearly 
as  I  can  recall  them,  were  these  : 

"  Missionary,  I  do  not  want  you  to  feel  so  badly  for  me ;  it  is 
true  I  am  very  poor ;  it  is  true,  since  Samuel  died,  we  have  often 
been  hungry  and  have  often  suffered  from  the  bitter  cold ;  but, 
Missionary,"  and  her  face  had  no  trace  of  sorrow  upon  it,  "  you 


15 


210  £Y   CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

have  heard  me  say  that  as  Samuel  gave  his  heart  to  God,  so 
have  I  given  God  my  heart,  and  He  Who  comforted  Samuel  and 
helped  him,  so  that  he  died  so  happily,  is  my  Saviour ;  and  where 
Samuel  has  gone,  by-and-by  I  am  going  too ;  and  that  thought 
makes  me  happy  all  the  day  long." 

There  came  a  blessed  exultation  into  my  soul,  but  I  could  find 
no  answer  then.  So  I  hurried  on  and  joined  my  weeping  brother, 
and  shouting,  "  Marche  ! "  to  our  dogs,  we  were  soon  rapidly 
speeding  over  the  icy  trail  to  our  Mission  home. 

That  night  our  bed  was  a  blanket  thinner,  and  on  our  limited 
supplies  there  was  a  heavy  drain.  I  told  the  Indians  who  were 
better  off  about  her  straitened  condition,  and  she  and  hers 
were  made  more  comfortable.  Many  of  them  gave  very  generously 
indeed  to  help  her.  The  grace  of  liberality  abounds  largely 
among  these  poor  Christian  Indians,  and  they  will  give  to  the 
necessities  of  those  who  are  poorer  than  themselves  until  it  seems 
at  times  as  though  they  had  about  reached  the  same  level. 

The  triumphant  death  of  Samuel,  and  then  Nancy's  brave 
words,  very  much  encouraged  us  in  our  work.  We  could  not  but- 
more  than  rejoice  at  the  Gospel's  power,  still  so  consciously 
manifested  to  save  in  the  Yalley  of  the  Shadow  of  Death,  and 
also  to  make  a  humble  log-cabin  a  little  heaven  below.  We 
pitied  her  in  her  poverty,  and  yet  soon  after,  when  we  had 
thought  it  all  over  in  the  light  of  eternity,  we  could  only  rejoice 
with  her,  and  in  our  spirits  say,  "  Happy  woman !  Better  live 
in  a  log  hut  without  a  chair  or  table  or  bedstead,  without  flour  or 
tea  or  potatoes,  entirely  dependent  upon  the  nets  in  *the  lake  for 
food,  if  the  Lord  Jesus  is  a  constant  Guest,  than  in  a  mansion 
of  a  millionaire,  surrounded  by  every  luxury,  but  destitute  of  His 
presence." 

It  is  a  matter  of  great  thankfulness  that  not  only  spiritually 
but  temporally  thousands  of  the  Indians  in  different  parts  of 
Canada  are  improving  grandly.  The  accompanying  picture 
(p.  209)  is  from  a  photograph  taken  at  the  Scugog  Lake  Indian 
Mission.  The  fine  barn,  well  filled  with  wheat,  as  well  as  all  the 
surrounding  vehicles  and  agricultural  implements,  belong  to  one 
of  the  Christian  Indians. 


CHAPTER    XVIIL 

RACE  FOB  LIFE  IN  A  BLIZZARD  STORM—  SAVED  BY  THE  MARVELLOUS 
INTELLIGENCE  OF  JACK  —  "WHERE  IS  THE  OLD  MAN,  WHOSE  HEAD 
WAS  LIKE  THE  SNOW-DRIFT  ?  " 


storms  sometimes  assailed  us,  as  on  the  long  winter 
JD  trails,  with  our  gallant  dogs  and  faithful  companions,  we 
wandered  over  those  regions  of  magnificent  distances. 

To  persons  who  have  not  actually  made  the  acquaintance  of  the 
blizzard  storms  of  the  North-  Western  Territories,  or  Wild  North 
Land,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  give  a  satisfactory  description. 
One  peculiarity  about  them,  causing  them  to  differ  from  other 
storms,  is  that  the  wind  seems  to  be  ever  coming  in  little  whirls 
or  eddies,  which  keep  the  air  full  of  snow,  and  make  it  almost 
impossible  to  tell  the  direction  from  which  the  wind  really  comes. 
With  it  apparently  striking  you  in  the  face,  you  turn  your  back 
to  it,  and  are  amazed  at  finding  that  it  still  faces  you.  Once,  when 
on  Lake  Winnipeg,  we  saw  one  coming  down  upon  us.  Its  ap- 
pearance was  that  of  a  dense  fog  blowing  in  from  the  sea.  Yery 
few  indeed  are  they  who  can  steer  their  course  correctly  in  a  blizzard 
storm.  Most  people,  when  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  caught  in  one, 
soon  get  bewildered,  and  almost  blinded  by  the  fine,  dry,  hard 
particles  of  snow  which  so  pitilessly  beat  upon  them,  filling  eyes, 
nose,  and  even  ears  and  mouth,  if  at  all  exposed. 

Once,  when  crossing  Lake  Winnipeg,  to  visit  some  wild 
Indians,  whom  we  found  on  our  arrival  in  the  midst  of  the 
hideous  ceremonies  of  a  dog  feast,  I  got  caught  in  a  terrible 
storm.  My  men  had  gone  on  ahead  with  all  the  dogs,  to  have 
dinner  ready  in  the  camp  on  the  distant  shore,  leaving  me  miles 


212  BY  CANOE  AND  'DOG-TRAIN. 

behind,  tramping  along  on  snow-shoes.  Down  from  the  north, 
with  terrific  fury,  came  the  gale.  I  tramped  on  as  rapidly  as 
possible,  until  I  got  bewildered.  Then  I  took  off  one  of  my 
snow-shoes,  and,  fastening  it  in  a  hole  cut  in  the  ice,  I  got  ready 
to  tramp  in  a  small  circle  around  it  to  keep  from  freezing  to 
death,  when  fortunately  I  heard  the  welcome  whooping  of  my 
Indians,  who,  seeing  my  danger,  had  quickly  turned  round,  and 
risking  their  own  lives  for  mine,  for  they  could  have  reached  the 
woods  and  shelter,  aided  by  the  dogs,  had  fortunately  reached  me 
There  we  stopped  for  hours,  until  the  blizzard  had  spent  its  fury, 
and  then  on  we  went. 

I  had  a  remarkable  experience  in  a  blizzard,  which  I  will  more 
fully  describe,  as  our  escape  was  under  Providence  so  much 
indebted  to  my  wonderful  dog  Jack. 

I  had  started  on  one  of  my  long  winter  trips  to  visit  the  few 
little  bands  of  Indians  who  were  struggling  for  an  existence  on 
the  Eastern  coast  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  and  who  were  always  glad 
to  welcome  the  Missionary,  and  to  hear  from  him  of  the  love  of 
the  Great  Spirit,  and  of  His  Son  Jesus  Christ.  Their  country 
is  very  wild  and  rough,  very  different  from  the  beautiful  prairie 
regions  of  the  North-West.  To  keep  down  expenses,  which  in 
those  Northern  Missions  are  very  heavy,  I  had  started  out  on 
this  long  trip  with  only  this  young  Indian  lad  as  my  com- 
panion. But  as  he  was  good  and  true,  I  thought  we  could 
succeed,  since  I  had  been  several  years  in  the  country,  and  had 
faced  many  a  wintry  storm,  and  slept  many  nights  in  the  snow. 

We  had  with  us  two  splendid  trains  of  dogs.  My  leader  was 
a  lively,  cunning  Esquimaux  dog,  as  white  as  snow.  His  name 
was  Koona,  which  is  the  Indian  word  for  "  snow " ;  and  he  was 
well  named.  The  other  three  dogs  of  my  train  were  my  favourites 
from  Ontario.  Two  of  them  were  gifts  from  Senator  Sanford,  of 
Hamilton ;  the  other  was  kindly  sent  to  me  by  Dr.  Mark,  of 
Ottawa.  The  other  train,  driven  by  Alec,  was  composed  of  some 
sagacious  St.  Bernards  obtained  for  me  by  the  kindness  of  Mr. 
Ferrier,  of  Montreal.  The  largest  and  most  enduring  of  the 
eight  was  Jack  from  Hamilton,  whose  place  was  second  in  my 
train,  and  w.ho  is  to  be  the  hero  of  this  adventure. 


214  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRA1*. 

We  had  left  our  camp-fire  in  the  woods  early  in  the  morning, 
and,  turning  our  faces  towards  the  north,  had  hoped  that  ere  the 
shadows  of  night  had  fallen  around  us,  at  least  sixty  miles  of  the 
frozen  surface  of  Lake  Winnipeg  would  have  been  travelled  over. 
For  a  time  we  were  able  to  push  on  very  rapidly,  keeping  the 
distant  points  of  headlands  well  in  view  for  our  guidance.  Lake 
Winnipeg  is  very  much  indented  with  bays,  and  in  travelling  we 
do  not  follow  the  coast  line,  but  strike  directly  across  these  bays 
from  point  to  point.  Some  of  them  run  back  for  many  miles 
into  the  land,  and  several  of  them  are  from  ten  to  thirty  miles 
wide.  The  dogs  get  so  accustomed  to  these  long  trips  and  to 
their  work,  that  they  require  no  guide  to  run  on  ahead,  but  will, 
with  wonderful  intelligence,  push  on  from  point  to  point  with 
great  exactness. 

On  and  on  we  had  travelled  for  hours ;  the  cold  was  very  great, 
but  we  could  easily  jump  off  from  our  dog-sleds  and  run  until  we 
felt  the  glow  and  warmth  of  such  vigorous  exercise.  After  a 
while,  we  noticed  that  the  strong  wind  which  had  arisen  was 
filling  the  air  with  fine  dry  snow,  and  making  travelling  very 
difficult  and  unpleasant.  Soon  it  increased  to  a  gale,  and  we 
found  ourselves  in  a  real  North- West  blizzard  on  stormy  Lake 
Winnipeg,  many  miles  from  shore. 

Perhaps  our  wisest  plan  would  have  been,  at  the  commencement 
of  the  storm,  to  have  turned  sharply  to  the  east,  and  got  into  the 
shelter  of  the  forest  as  quickly  as  possible.  But  the  bay  we  were 
crossing  was  a  very  deep  one,  and  the  headland  before*  us  seemed 
as  near  as  the  other  end  of  the  bay ;  and  so  we  thought  it  best 
to  run  the  risk  and  push  on.  That  we  might  not  get  separated 
from  each  other,  I  fastened  what  we  call  the  tail  rope  of  my  sled 
to  the  collar  of  the  head  dog  of  Alec's  train. 

After  Alec  and  I  had  travelled  on  for  several  hours,  no  sign 
of  any  land  appearing,  we  began  to  think  that  the  fickle  blizzard 
was  playing  us  one  of  its  tricks,  and  that  we  had  wandered  far 
out  into  the  lake.  We  stopped  our  dogs  out  there  in  the  blinding, 
bewildering  storm. 

"  Alec  ! "  I  shouted,  "  I  am  afraid  we  are  lost." 

*  Yes,  Missionary,"  he  replied,  "  we  are  surely  lost." 


LOST  IN  A   BLIZZARD  STORM.  215 

We  talked  about  our  position,  and  both  had  to  confess  that  we 
did  not  really  know  where  we  were  or  which  way  we  ought  to  go. 

The  result  of  our  deliberation  was  that  we  could  do  no  better 
than  trust  in  the  good  Providence  above  us,  and  in  our  dogs 
before  us. 

As  it  was  now  after  midday,  and  the  vigorous  exercise  of  the 
last  few  hours  had  made  us  very  hungry,  we  opened  our  provi- 
sion bag,  and,  taking  out  some  frozen  food,  made  a  fairly  good 
attempt  to  satisfy  the  keen  demands  of  appetite.  We  missed 
very  much  the  good  cup  of  hot  black  tea  we  should  have  had  if 
we  had  been  fortunate  enough  to  reach  the  shore,  and  find  some 
wood  with  which  to  make  a  fire. 

After  our  hasty  meal  we  held  a  short  consultation,  in  which 
the  fact  became  more  and  more  evident  to  us,  that  our  position 
was  a  very  perilous  one,  as  we  were  becoming  blinded  by  the 
driving  particles  of  fine  snow  that  stung  our  eyeballs  and  added 
much  to  our  bewilderment.  We  found  that  we  did  not  know 
east  from  west,  or  north  from  south,  and  would  have  to  leave  the 
dogs  to  decide  on  their  own  course,  and  let  them  go  in  any  direction 
they  pleased. 

I  had  a  good  deal  of  confidence  in  my  dogs,  as  I  had  proved 
their  sagacity.  To  Jack,  the  noblest  of  them  all,  I  looked  to 
lead  us  out  of  our  difficulty;  and  he  did  not  disappoint  our 
expectations.  I  suppose  I  acted  and  talked  to  my  dog  in  a  way 
that  some  folks  would  have  considered  very  foolish.  When 
travelling  regularly,  the  dogs  are  only  fed  once  a  day,  and  that 
when  the  day's  work  is  done.  However,  it  was  different  that 
day,  as  in  the  blinding  gale  Alec  and  I  tried  to  eat  our  dinner. 
As  Jack  and  the  others  crowded  aroilnd  us,  they  were  not 
neglected,  and  with  them  we  shared  the  food  we  had,  as  there 
was  a  great  uncertainty  whether  another  meal  would  ever  be 
required  by  any  one  of  us. 

As  usual  in  such  emergencies,  Jack  had  come  up  close  to  me, 
and  so,  while  he  and  Alec  and  I,  and  the  rest  of  us,  men  and 
dogs,  were  eating  our  dinners,  I  had  a  talk  with  him. 

"Jack,  my  noble  fellow,"  I  said,  "do  you  know  that  we  are 
lost,  and  that  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  we  shall  ever  see  the 


216  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

Mission  House  again  ?  The  prospect  is  that  the  snow  will  soon 
be  our  winding  sheet,  and  that  loving  eyes  will  look  in  vain  for 
our  return.  The  chances  are  against  your  ever  having  the 
opportunity  of  stretching  yourself  out  on  the  wolf  rug  before 
the  study  fire.  Rouse  up  yourself,  old  dog,  for  in  your  intelli- 
gence we  are  going  to  trust  to  lead  us  to  a  place  of  safety." 

The  few  arrangements  necessary  for  the  race  were  soon  made. 
Alec  wrapped  himself  up  as  comfortably  as  possible  in  his  rabbit- 
skin  robe,  and  I  helped  him  to  ensconce  himself  securely  on  his 
dog-sled.  I  tied  a  rope  from  the  end  of  my  sled  to  the  collar  of 
his  leader  dog,  so  that  our  trains  might  not  get  separated.  Then 
I  straightened  out  the  trains,  and,  wrapping  myself  up  as  well 
as  I  could  on  my  sled,  I  shouted  "  March6  !  "  to  the  dogs. 

I  had  as  leader  dog  the  intelligent  white  Esquimaux,  "  Koona." 
As  I  shouted  the  word  for  "Go,"  Koona  turned  his  head  and 
looked  at  me,  as  though  bewildered,  and  seemed  to  be  waiting 
for  "  Chaw  "  or  "  Yee,"  the  words  for  "  right "  and  "  left."  As 
I  did  not  know  myself,  I  shouted  to  Jack,  who  was  second  in  the 
train,  "  Go  on,  Jack,  whichever  way  you  like,  and  do  the  best 
you  can,  for  I  do  not  know  anything  about  it."  As  Koona  still 
hesitated,  Jack,  with  all  the  confidence  imaginable,  dashed  off  in 
a  certain  direction,  and  Koona  with  slackened  traces  ran  beside 
him,  very  willing  in  such  an  emergency  to  give  him  all  the  honour 
of  leadership. 

For  hours  the  dogs  kept  bravely  to  their  work.  The  storm 
raged  and  howled  around  us,  but  not  for  one  moment  did  Jack 
hesitate  or  seem  to  be  at  fault.  Koona  had  nothing  to  do  but 
run  beside  him ;  but  the  other  two  splendid  dogs  in  the  traces 
behind  Jack  seemed  to  catch  his  spirit,  and  nobly  aided  him  by 
their  untiring  efforts  and  courage.  The  cold  was  so  intense  that 
I  had  grave  fears  that  we  should  freeze  to  death.  We  were 
obliged  so  to  wrap  ourselves  up  that  it  was  impossible  with  so 
much  on  us  to  run  with  any  comfort,  or  to  keep  up  with  the 
dogs  whilst  going  at  such  a  rapid  rate.  Frequently  would  I  shout 
back  to  my  comrade,  "Alec !  don't  go  to  sleep.  Alec,  if  you  do,  you 
may  never  wake  up  until  the  Judgment  morning."  Back  would 
come  his  response,  "  All  right,  sir ;  then  I'll  try  to  keep  awake." 


SAVED  BY  MY  DOG  JACK.  217 

Thus  on  we  travelled  through  that  wintry  storm.  How  cold, 
how  relentless,  how  bitter  were  the  continuous  blasts  of  the  north 
wind !  After  a  while  the  shadows  of  night  fell  upon  us,  and 
we  were  enshrouded  in  the  darkness.  Not  a  pleasant  position 
was  that  in  which  we  were  situated ;  but  there  was  no  help  for 
it,  nor  any  use  in  giving  way  to  despondency  or  despair.  A 
sweet  peace  filled  my  soul,  and  in  a  blessed  restfulness  of  spirit 
my  heart  was  kept  stayed  upon  God.  While  there  is  life  there 
is  hope ;  and  so,  with  an  occasional  shout  of  warning  to  Alec  to 
keep  awake,  and  a  cheering  call  to  the  dogs,  who  required  no 
special  urging,  so  gallantly  were  they  doing  their  work,  we 
patiently  hung  on  to  our  sleds  and  awaited  the  result.  We  were 
now  in  the  gloom  of  night,  dashing  along  I  knew  not  where,  and 
not  even  able  at  times  to  see  the  dogs  before  us. 

About  three  hours  after  dark  the  dogs  quickened  their  pace 
into  a  gallop,  and  showed  by  their  excitement  that  they  had 
detected  evidences  of  nearness  to  the  shore  and  safety,  of  which 
as  yet  I  knew  nothing.  Soon  after  they  dragged  us  over  a 
large  pile  of  broken  ice  and  snow,  the  accumulations  of  ice  cut 
out  of  the  holes  in  the  lake,  where  the  Indian  families  had  for 
months  obtained  their  supply  of  water  for  cooking  and  other 
purposes.  Turning  sharply  on  the  trail  towards  the  shore,  our 
dogs  dashed  along  for  a  couple  of  hundred  yards  more ;  then  they 
dragged  us  up  a  steep  bank  into  the  forest,  and,  after  a  few 
minutes  more  of  rapid  travelling,  we  found  ourselves  in  the 
midst  of  a  little  collection  of  wigwams,  and  among  a  band  of 
friendly  Indians,  who  gave  us  a  cordial  welcome,  and  rejoiced 
with  us  at  our  escape*  from  the  storm,  which  was  the  severest 
of  the  year. 

We  had  three  days  of  religious  services  with  them,  and  then 
went  on  our  way  from  encampment  to  encampment.  Very  glad 
were  the  poor  people  to  see  us,  and  with  avidity  did  they  receive 
the  word  preached. 

I  felt  that  it  was  very  slow  work.  My  Circuit  or  Mission-field 
was  larger  than  all  England.  I  was  the  only  Missionary  of  any 
Church  in  this  large  field.  By  canoe  or  dog-train  I  could  only 
get  around  to  all  my  appointments  or  out-stations  twice  a  year, 


218  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

Six  months  the  poor  souls  had  to  wait  for  the  messenger  and  the 
message. 

At  one  of  these  Indian  encampments  on  one  of  these  visits 
I  had  the  following  sad  experience.  Before  I  closed  the  first 
service  I  asked,  "  Where  is  the  old  man  whose  head  was  like  the 
snow-drift  ? "  for  I  had  missed  a  white-haired  old  man,  who  had 
ever  been  at  all  the  services,  and  had  from  the  time  of  his 
conversion  manifested  the  greatest  anxiety  to  hear  and  learn 
all  he  could  about  this  great  salvation.  At  first  he  had  opposed 
me,  and  was  annoyed  at  my  coming  among  his  people.  Ulti- 
mately, however,  he  became  convinced  of  the  error  of  his  ways, 
and  was  an  earnest,  decided  Christian.  When  I  arrived  at  his 
village,  whether  by  canoe  in  summer,  or  dog- train  in  winter, 
I  was  always  received  by  this  venerable  old  man  with  great 
delight.  Not  satisfied  with  attending  all  the  services  held,  and 
being  at  hand  whenever  I  taught  the  Syllabic  Characters,  that 
the  Indians  might  be  able  to  read  the  blessed  Word,  he  used 
to  follow  me  like  my  shadow,  and  listen  very  attentively  to  all 
I  had  to  say.  It  was  rather  startling,  indeed,  when  one  night, 
after  a  hard  day  of  preaching  and  teaching  and  counselling, 
I  kneeled  down  to  pray,  ere  I  wrapped  myself  up  in  my  camp- 
bed  to  get  a  little  rest,  to  hear  whispered  in  quiet  tones  beside 
me,  "  Missionary,  pray  in  Indian,  and  so  loud  that  I  can  hear 
you."  In  the  morning  he  was  there  again,  and  as  I  bowed  to 
say  my  quiet  morning  prayers  there  came  into  my  ears  from 
this  old  man  the  pleading  words  again,  "  Missionary,  please 
pray  in  Indian,  and  pray  out  loud,  so  that  I  may  hear  what 
you  say." 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  I  became  very  much  attached  to  my  old 
friend  with  the  snow-white  hair,  who  was  so  hungering  and 
thirsting  for  the  teachings  of  the  Word  1  Only  twice  a  year 
could  I  then  visit  him  and  his  people.  I  used  to  remain  a  few 
days  at  each  of  these  visits,  and  very  busy  ones  indeed  they  were. 
For  six  months  these  poor  sheep  in  the  wilderness  had  been 
without  the  Gospel,  and  as  soon  as  I  left  they  would  have  to  get 
along  as  well  as  they  could  on  what  they  had  heard.  Now  that 
they  had,  under  the  good  Spirit's  influence,  a  longing  desire  to 


TSE  OLD  MAN  WITH  SNOW-WHITE  HAIR.  819 

receive  the  truth,  can  any  one  wonder  at  their  anxiety  to  learn 
all  they  could  from  the  Missionary  during  his  short  stay  among 
them?  This  intense  desire  on  their  part  filled  my  heart  with 
thankfulness,  and  amply  compensated  for  all  the  sufferings  and 
hardships  of  the  long,  cold,  dangerous  journeys. 

On  my  arrival  at  this  place,  as  usual,  the  Indians  had  crowded 
around  to  welcome  me.  I  was  disappointed  at  not  seeing  my  old 
friend.  So  it  was  that  at  our  first  meeting,  held  as  soon  as 
possible  after  my  arrival,  I  asked  the  question,  "  Where  is  the 
old  man  whose  head  was  like  the  snow-drift  ? " 

To  my  question  there  was  no  response,  but  every  head  was 
bowed  as  in  grief  and  sorrow. 

Again  I  asked :  "  Tell  me,  what  have  you  done  with  the  old 
man  with  the  snow-white  hair  ? " 

Then  there  was  a  little  whispering  among  them,  and  one  of 
them,  speaking  out  softly,  said  in  the  Cree  language,  "  Non 
pimmatissit ; "  the  English  of  which  is,  "  He  is  not  among  the 
living." 

The  poor  Indians,  who  have  not  as  yet  come  to  understand  that 
death  is  a  conquered  foe,  never  like  to  use  the  word ;  and  so, 
when  speaking  of  those  who  have  gone,  they  say  they  are  "  not 
among  the  living." 

When  in  this  expressive  way  I  learned  that  my  old  friend  was 
dead,  my  heart  was  filled  with  sorrow,  as  I  saw  also  were  theirs. 
After  a  little  pause  I  said,  "  Tell  me  how  he  died." 

At  first  there  was  a  great  deal  of  reluctance  to  answer  this 
question ;  but  when  they  saw>J  was  not  only  anxious  but  resolved 
to  know  all  about  it,  they  took  me  into  a  wigwam  where  most  of 
his  relatives  were,  and  there  a  young  man,  a  grandson,  got  up 
and  told  me  this  pathetic  story. 

He  said  :  "  Missionary,  you  had  not  been  long  gone  with  your 
canoe  last  summer  before  Mismis"  (the  Indian  word  for  "grand- 
father") "got  very  sick,  and  after  some  weeks  he  seemed  to 
know  that  he  was  going  to  leave  us.  So  he  called  us  all  around 
him,  and  said  a  great  many  things  to  us.  I  cannot  remember 
them  all,  as  he  spoke  many  times ;  but  I  do  remember  that  he 
said,  '  How  I  wish  the  Missionary  would  soon  come  again  to  talk 


220  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

to  me  and  comfort  me  !  But  he  is  far  away,  and  my  memory  is 
bad,  and  I  have  forgotten  what  he  used  to  say  to  me.  My  body 
is  breaking  up,  and  so  also  is  my  memory  getting  bad.  Tell  him 
his  coming  was  like  the  sunlight  on  the  waters ;  but  it  was  so 
seldom  that  he  came  that  all  in  my  mind  has  got  so  dark,  and 
my  memory  is  so  bad,  that  I  have  forgotten  all  he  used  to  say  to 
me.  The  good  things  he  used  to  tell  us  about  the  Good  Spirit 
and  His  Son,  and  what  we  ought  to  do,  have  slipped  away  from 
me.  0  that  he  were  here  to  help  me !  Tell  him,  as  long  as  I 
was  able,  I  used  to  go  up  to  the  point  of  land  that  runs  out  into 
the  lake,  and  watch  if  I  could  see  his  canoe  returning.  But  it 
came  not.  Tell  him  I  have,  since  the  winter  set  in,  listened  for 
the  sound  of  the  bells  on  his  dog-trains.  But  I  have  not  heard 
them.  O  that  he  were  here  to  help  me !  He  is  far  away ;  so 
get  me  my  old  drum  and  medicine  bag,  and  let  me  die  as  did  my 
fathers.  But  you,  young  people,  with  good  memories,  who  can 
remember  all  the  Missionary  has  said  to  you,  listen  to  his  words, 
and  worship  the  Great  Spirit  and  His  Son,  as  he  tells  you,  and 
do  not  do  as  I  am  doing  ! ' 

"  Then,  as  we  saw  his  mind  was  weak,  or  he  would  not  have 
asked  for  his  old  things,  we  got  him  the  old  drum,  and  put 
it  before  him  where  he  was  sitting  upon  the  ground.  We  also 
hung  up  a  medicine  bag  before  him  in  the  wigwam,  and  he 
drummed.  As  he  drummed  he  fell,  and  as  he  fell  he  died.  But 
his  last  words  were  to  the  young  people  with  good  memories  to 
be  sure  and  listen  to  the  Missionary,  and  to  give  up  all  their  old 
Indian  sinful  paganism." 

When  the  young  man  ceased  and  sat  down  again,  a  deep  silence 
fell  upon  us  all,  as  there  we  were  huddled  that  cold,  stormy  day 
in  that  little  bark  tent.  An  occasional  sob  from  some  sorrowing 
relative  was  the  only  sound  heard  for  several  minutes. 

My  own  heart  was  deeply  affected  when  they  told  me  these  and 
other  things,  which  I  cannot  now  call  up,  about  the  old  Indian's 
death.  After  a  while  I  broke  the  silence  by  saying,  "Where 
have  you  buried  him  ? " 

They  showed  me  the  place.  It  was  where  his  wigwam  had 
stood.  So  terrible  is  the  power  of  the  Frost  King  in  that  land 


PRAYER  IN  THE  SNOW-DRIFT.  221 

in  winter,  that  to  dig  a  grave  out  in  the  open  places  is  like 
cutting  through  a  granite  rock.  And  so  in  his  tent,  where 
burned  his  fire,  thus  keeping  the  ground  unfrozen,  there  they  dug 
his  grave  and  buried  him.  The  wigwam  was  removed,  and  soon  the 
fierce  storms  swept  over  the  place,  and  the  snow  fell  deeply  upon 
it,  and  there  was  nothing  to  indicate  that  there,  so  shortly  before, 
had  been  a  human  habitation. 

When  they  had  pointed  out  the  place  where,  underneath  the 
snow-drift,  rested  all  that  was  mortal  of  my  old  friend,  I  lingered 
until  the  Indians  had  sought  the  shelter  of  their  wigwams  from 
the  bitter  cold,  and  then  all  alone,  except  with  Him  Who  hears 
His  people's  cry,  I  knelt  down  in  the  snow  and  prayed,  or  tried 
to  pray.  But  I  could  only  weep  out  my  sorrow  as  I  thought  of 
this  old  man's  precious  soul  passing  into  eternity  under  such 
strange  circumstances.  With  his  waning  strength  he  exhorted 
his  loved  ones  to  be  Christians,  and  yet  he  himself  was  performing 
some  of  the  foolish  and  unmeaning  rites  of  paganism,  not  because 
he  had  much  faith  in  them,  but  because  there  was  no  Missionary 
or  teacher  to  keep  in  his  memory  the  story  of  Jesus  and  His 
wondrous  love  ! 

Never  before  did  the  wants  and  woes  of  the  weary,  waiting, 
wailing  millions  of  earth's  perishing  ones  rise  up  so  vividly  as  I 
knelt  there  in  the  snow.  Before  me,  through  my  blinding  tears, 
I  seemed  to  see  them  pass  in  dense  array, — a  dark  world,  to  be 
illumined ;  an  enslaved  world,  to  be  set  free ;  a  sinful  world,  to  be 
made  holy ;  a  redeemed  world,  to  be  saved. 

In  a  spirit  that  perhaps  savoured  too  much  of  unbelief  I  cried  out, 
"How  long,  0  Lord,  how  long?  Why  do  Thy  chariot  wheels  delay?" 

Saving  me  from  further  gloom,  came  sonie  of  the  sweet  promises 
of  the  Word :  and  so  I  prayed  for  their  speedy  f  ulfilment. 
Earnestly  did  my  feeble  petitions  ascend,  that  the  time  would 
soon  come  when  not  only  all  the  poor  Indians  of  the  great  North- 
West,  but  also  all  the  unnumbered  millions  of  earth's  inhabitants 
who  are  going  down  from  the  darkness  of  paganism  and  super- 
stition to  the  darkness  of  the  grave,  might  soon  have  faithful 
teachers  to  whisper  in  their  ears  the  story  of  the  Cross,  and  point 
them  to  the  world's  Redeemer. 


122  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

Making  all  the  visits  we  had  arranged  for  that  trip,  we 
returned  home.  Months  after,  when  the  packet  arrived  from 
Manitoba,  the  sad  news,  that  had  so  filled  the  Church  with  sorrow, 
of  the  death  of  the  heroic  George  McDougall  reached  us.  Out  on 
the  wide  prairies  he  had  been  caught  in  a  blizzard  storm.  Horse 
and  man  seem  to  have  become  bewildered,  and  there  the  noble 
Missionary  to  the  Indians  on  the  great  plains  laid  himself  down 
to  die,  and  his  frozen  body  was  not  found  until  after  fourteen 
days  of  diligent  search.  After  my  dear  wife  and  I  had  read  the 
story,  and  talked  and  wept  about  his  death,  so  sad,  so  mysterious, 
so  inscrutable,  she  said  to  me,  "Where  were  you  during  that 
week  ? "  The  journal  was  searched,  and  we  were  not  a  little 
startled  at  finding  that  the  race  for  life  we  have  in  this  chapter 
described  was  in  all  probability  on  the  same  day  as  that  on  which 
the  Rev.  George  McDougall  perished. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

WOBK  OUTSIDE  THE  PULPIT — POLYGAMY  AND  ITS  EVILS — FAMILY 
BE-AERANGEMENTS —  DANGEEOUS  WOEK  AT  TIMES  —  PEACTICAL 
PASTOEAL  DUTIES— A  PISH  SEEMON — FIVE  MEN  WON  TO  CHEIST. 

WHILE  the  blessed  work  of  preaching  "  the  glorious  Gospel 
of  the  Son  of  God "  was  ever  recognised  as  the  most 
important  of  our  duties,  and  we  were  permitted  to  rejoice  that, 
as  in  Paul's  time,  still  "it  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of 
preaching  to  save  them  that  believe,"  yet  there  was  a  great  deal 
to  be  done  outside  of  the  pulpit  ere  these  Indians  could  shake 
off  the  fetters  of  a  degrading  paganism  with  its  attendant  evils. 

The  slavish  fear  of  the  old  conjurers  deterred  some  from  openly 
avowing  themselves  as  willing  to  accept  the  truths  of  Christianity. 
Others  were  polygamists,  and  were  unwilling  to  comply  with  the 
Scriptural  requirements.  To  have  several  wives  is  considered  a 
great  honour  in  some  of  the  tribes.  For  a  man  to  separate  from 
all  but  one  is  to  expose  himself  to  ridicule  from  his  pagan  friends, 
and  also  to  the  danger  of  incurring  the  hostility  of  the  relations 
of  the  discarded  wives.  Some  of  the  most  perplexing  and  trying 
duties  of  my  missionary  life  have  been  in  connection  with  this 
matter  of  re-organising,  on  a  Christian  basis,  the  families  of  once 
heathen  polygamists,  who,  desirous  to  do  what  was  right,  have 
left  the  matter  entirely  in  my  hands.  At  first  my  convictions 
and  views  were  that  the  first  wife  should  always  be  the  one  to 
remain  with  the  man,  and  the  others  should  go  away.  Like  all 
the  other  Missionaries  in  the  country,  I  had  to  modify  these  ideas, 
and  decide  differently  in  some  peculiar  cases. 

For  example,  a  man  came  to  me  who  was  much  impressed  by 


224  JBT  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

the  truth,  and  desired  to  be  a  Christian.  I  questioned  him  closely, 
and  found  him  very  sincere  and  earnest  in  his  resolves.  The  Spirit 
was  undoubtedly  working  in  his  heart  and  conscience.  He  told 
us  he  had  two  wives,  but  was  willing  to  put  one  away.  Which 
one  should  go,  he  said  he  would  leave  to  the  Missionary  to  decide. 
His  first  wife  was  much  the  older  woman,  but  she  had  no  children, 
while  the  younger  wife  had  quite  a  family  of  little  ones  around 
her.  So  poor  are  they  in  this  cold  northern  land  that  it  is  hard 
for  the  best  of  them  at  times  to  get  along.  Very  sad  is  the  con- 
dition of  the  widow,  or  those  women  who  have  no  able-bodied  men 
as  husbands,  fathers,  or  sons,  to  hunt  and  work  for  them.  Worse 
still  is  it  if  they  have  helpless  little  children  to  be  cared  for.  So 
the  decision  we  came  to  was,  that  the  wife  with  the  family  of 
little  ones  should  remain  with  the  man,  and  the  one  who  had  no 
children  should  leave  him. 

We  tried  to  arrange  that  a  certain  quantity  of  help  should  be 
rendered  to  the  wife,  or  wives,  put  away  by  the  husband.  But 
we  found  that  there  was  a  certain  amount  of  danger  in  this,  the 
nature  of  which  will  be  evident  to  the  reader ;  and  so,  while  we 
insisted  on  the  one  or  more  who  left  receiving  as  large  a  share  as 
possible  of  the  man's  "  worldly  goods,"  we  endeavoured  to  make  the 
separation  complete  and  final.  To  help  those  who  for  conscience' 
sake  thus  acted  was  often  a  very  heavy  tax  upon  our  limited  means. 

Often  the  women  themselves  were  the  first  to  insist  on  a  change 
from  the  old  polygamous  style,  which,  they  were  quick  to  see  very 
soon  after  the  Gospel  was  proclaimed  to  them,  was  antagonistic 
to  its  teachings. 

There  was  one  most  thrilling  case  that  moved  our  hearts,  and 
yet  caused  us  to  rejoice,  for  it  showed  us  the  depth  of  the  religious 
convictions  which  impelled  them  to  have  the  matter  set  right, 
even  though  one  must  be  cast  out  and  exposed  to  the  ridicule  of 
her  heathen  friends,  and  to  the  loss  of  a  fairly  good-natured 
husband,  considering  his  pagan  surroundings. 

Two  women  came  to  our  Mission  House,  and  asked  to  have 
a  talk  with  my  good  wife  and  myself.  After  talking  about 
different  things,  at  length  they  told  us,  with  much  trepidation, 
that  they  had  attended  our  services,  and  had  a  great  desire  in 


DIFFICULTIES   WITH  POLYGAMY.  226 

their  hearts  to  become  Christians.  We  found  they  were  the  two 
wives  of  an  Indian  whose  wigwam  had  been  pitched  in  our 
vicinity  a  few  weeks  before.  These  women  and  others  had  quietly 
come  to  our  services  at  the  church,  and  their  hearts  and  consciences 
had  been  touched  by  the  truth. 

We  had  had  some  experiences  on  these  lines,  and  so  with 
entire  strangers  we  had  learned  to  be  a  little  cautious.  In  that 
country,  as  well  as  in  civilised  lands,  it  is  sometimes  a  dangerous 
matter  to  interfere  in  the  domestic  affairs  of  other  people.  So 
we  questioned  them  closely,  and  found  that  they  were  resolved  to 
have  the  matter  settled.  I  asked  them  if  they  had  spoken  to 
their  husband  about  it,  and  they  answered  in  the  affirmative ; 
also  that  he  had  left  it  to  them  to  settle  which  should  go,  as 
he  likewise  had  begun  to  think  they  ought  to  live  as  the 
Christian  Indians  did.  We  asked  them  what  they  wanted  us 
to  do,  and  they  said  that  they  had  decided  that  they  would  leave 
the  matter  to  the  Missionary  and  his  wife,  and  whichever  we 
thought  ought  to  leave,  would  go  away,  and  try  to  get  her  own 
living. 

They  returned  to  their  wigwam,  and  with  the  consent  of  their 
husband  made  an  equal  division  of  the  few  things  which  constituted 
their  possessions,  such  as  nets,  traps,  blankets,  kettles,  and  axes. 
Then,  accompanied  by  their  children,  they  came  again  to  our 
house,  and  sat  down  apart  from  each  other,  and  patiently  awaited 
our  decision.  My  wife  and  I  deeply  felt  the  responsibility  of 
deciding;  yet,  as  it  had  come  to  us  because  of  the  awakening 
of  their  hearts  to  desire  a  better  life,  we  could  not  do  otherwise 
than  accept  the  situation,  and  do  the  best  we  could. 

We  had  talked  the  matter  over,  and  had  asked  Divine  guidance  \ 
and  so  now,  when  summoned  to  give  our  decision,  we  quickly 
but  kindly  said  to  the  woman  with  five  children,  "  You  are  to 
stay  with  your  husband , "  and  to  the  other  woman,  who  had 
four  children,  we  said,  "  You  are  not  to  return  to  the  wigwam, 
but  must  be  from  this  hour  as  an  entire  stranger  to  it." 

The  first  woman  sprang  up,  her  eyes  flashing  with  joy,  and 
gathering  her  children  and  property  around  her  she  uttered  her 
hasty  words  of  farewell,  and  was  gone.  For  a  few  moments  the 

16 


226  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

other  woman,  who  had  drawn  her  blanket  over  her  head,  remained 
perfectly  still,  with  the  exception  of  a  suppressed  sob,  which 
seemed  to  make  the  whole  body  quiver.  Soon,  with  that  won- 
derful will-power  which  these  Indian  women,  as  well  as  the  men, 
possess,  she  appeared  to  have  obtained  the  mastery  over  herself 
again,  and,  uncovering  her  head,  she  began  to  make  preparations 
for  leaving.  As  she  turned  her  large  black  eyes  dimmed  with 
tears  towards  us,  while  there  was  no  malice  in  them,  there  was 
a  despairing  sorrow  that  pierced  us  like  a  knife.  She  seemed  to 
see  the  lonely,  neglected,  contemned,  suffering  life  before  her ; 
but  she  had  counted  the  cost,  and  had  taken  the  step  for 
conscience'  sake,  and  she  would  not  flinch  now.  We  entered 
into  conversation  with  her,  and  it  seemed  almost  cruel  that  we, 
who  had  given  a  decision  that  had  shut  up  against  her  the  only 
home  she  had,  should  begin  to  talk  to  her  about  where  she  would 
go  and  what  she  would  do. 

She  told  us  she  did  not  know  where  to  go  or  what  to  do.  Her 
husband  had  bought  her  from  her  father,  but  he  was  dead ;  and 
as  her  girlhood  home  was  far  away,  and  she  had  not  been  there 
since  her  husband  took  her  away,  she  knew  nothing  about  any  of 
her  relatives.  But  even  if  she  did,  and  could  find  some  of  them, 
it  was  very  likely  they  would  treat  her  with  contempt,  and 
perhaps  persecute  her.  So  she  had  not  the  slightest  idea  as  to 
the  future. 

Need  I  write  that  our  hearts  were  full  of  sorrow,  and  we  saw 
that  this  was  a  case  which  must  have  help,  no  matter  how 
straitened  might  be  our  financial  circumstances  ? 

We  had  but  lately  read  the  story  of  the  little  oil  in  the  cruse, 
and  the  handful  of  meal  in  the  barrel ;  and  so  this  woman  and 
her  children  must  be  helped.  While  Mrs.  Young  fed  them  and 
talked  kindly  to  them,  I  went  out  and  got  some  of  my  Christian 
Indians  together,  and  we  talked  the  matter  over,  and  then  took 
off  our  coats  and  went  to  work,  and  made  her  a  wigwam  for  the 
present,  as  it  was  in  the  pleasant  summer-time.  A  canoe  was 
obtained  for  her,  and  her  nets  were  set  where  white  fish  could  be 
caught  readily.  She  was  an  industrious  woman,  willing  to  do 
everything  she  could  ;  and  so,  with  the  help  we  gave  her  and  the 


THE  OLD  MAN  WITH  FOUR    WIVES.  227 

tangible  sympathy  manifested  by  the  Christian  Indians,  she  took 
heart  and  got  along  very  well,  and  became  a  good  Christian 
woman. 

As  the  result  of  the  looseness  of  the  marriage  tie  in  their  old 
sinful  lives,  we  found  many  strange  complicated  tangles,  some  of 
which  it  was  impossible  to  straighten.  To  deal  with  some  of  them 
would  have  caused  endless  difficulty,  without  any  possibility  of 
improving  matters.  To  refuse  to  interfere  gave  offence  to  some, 
who,  I  am  afraid,  were  more  pharisaical  than  wise.  Here,  for 
example,  was  one  case.  A  couple  had  been  married  years  ago. 
After  living  together  for  several  years  and  having  three  children, 
the  man  want  off  to  Red  River  as  a  boatman  for  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company.  Delayed  there  for  a  time,  he  married  a  wife  in 
the  Indian  settlement,  and  made  that  place  his  home,  only  return- 
ing with  his  second  family  about  the  time  I  went  there.  His 
first  wife,  a  year  or  two  after  he  left,  not  hearing  from  him, 
married  another  man,  who  supposed  she  was  a  widow,  and  they 
had  several  bright,  interesting  children.  As  the  result  of  the 
faithful  preaching  of  the  Word,  these  families  were  converted,  and 
became  good  Christians.  They  felt  keenly  their  position,  but, 
after  pondering  it  over  and  listening  to  many  solutions,  I  gave  it 
up ;  and  as  the  two  families  were  living  happily,  I  left  them  as 
I  had  found  them.  Paganism,  not  Christianity,  was  responsible 
for  the  difficulty. 

At  Nelson  River  I  was  accosted  one  day  by  an  old  man,  who 
said  he  had  listened  carefully  to  what  I  had  said,  and  wanted  to 
become  a  Christian  and  be  baptized.  I  was  very  much  pleased 
with  his  talk,  but,  suspecting  him  to  be  a  polygamist,  I  asked 
him  as  to  the  number  of  his  wives.  His 'answer  was  that  he  had 
four.  I  had  a  long  conversation  with  him  as  to  our  views,  and 
explained  to  him  the  teachings  of  God's  Word,  and  candidly  told 
him  that  I  could  not  baptize  him  until  he  put  three  of  them 
away. 

He  seemed  grieved  at  my  decision,  and  said  that  he  did  want 
to  be  a  Christian,  but  he  and  his  wives  were  getting  old,  and  they 
had  got  along  fairly  well ;  and  now  if  he  went  and  told  them 
what  he  would  have  to  do,  he  was  afraid  there  would  be  trouble. 


228  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

As  I  saw  the  man  was  really  in  earnest,  and  it  was  evident  that 
the  good  Spirit  was  working  upon  his  heart,  I  encouraged  him 
to  make  the  effort,  and  I  told  him  everything  would  work  out  all 
right. 

He  went  to  his  large  tent,  and,  getting  his  large  family  around 
him, — for  three  of  these  wives  had  stalwart  sons, — he  told  them 
of  his  desire  to  become  a  Christian,  and  what  he  would  have  to 
do  before  the  Missionary  would  consent  to  baptize  him.  At  once 
there  was  a  "  row."  The  women  began  to  wail,  and  the  sons, 
who  generally  treated  their  mothers  with  neglect  and  indifference, 
now  declared,  with  a  good  deal  of  emphasis,  that  their  mothers 
should  not  be  sent  away,  and  thus  degraded  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people.  From  what  I  afterwards  learned,  there  must  have  been 
a  rough  time. 

At  length  one  of  the  sons  spoke  up  and  said,  "  Who  is  causing 
us  all  this  trouble  ? " 

The  answer  was,  "  Why,  it  is  the  Missionary,  whom  we  have 
all  heard,  and  who  refuses  to  baptize  our  father  unless  he  puts 
away  all  of  his  wives  but  one." 

"  Let  us  go  for  that  Missionary,"  said  several  of  them,  and 
seizing  their  arms,  they  came  for  me. 

Fortunately  for  me  I  was  outside  of  the  trading  post  on  the 
green,  and  saw  them  coming,  and,  not  liking  their  suspicious  move- 
ments, and  imagining  the  cause,  I  speedily  decided  on  my  course 
of  action.  Calling  one  of  my  reliable  Christian  Indians,  I  went 
quickly  towards  them,  and,  ignoring  their  angry  looks,  I  began 
talking  to  them  as  though  we  were  the  best  of  friends.  Some- 
thing like  the  following  were  my  words  to  them : — 

"  Men,  you  have  heard  me  talk  to  you  out  of  the  great  Book. 
You  have  listened  attentively.  You  are  thinking  about  what  I 
have  said  to  you.  I  wish  we  could  do  something,  or  find  out 
some  way,  by  which  you  and  your  mothers  and  father  could  all 
resolve  together  to  give  up  the  old  bad  life,  and  accept  the  new 
one,  and  become  Christians  together.  I  have  been  thinking  it 
over  since  I  had  a  little  talk  with  your  father,  and  I  have  a  plan 
that  I  think  will  work  well." 

While  I  went  on  in  this  way,  they  listened  attentively;  Mid 


RE- ARRANGING  HOUSEHOLDS.  229 

when  I  came  to  mention  a  plan  by  which  the  difficulty  could  be 
overcome,  the  wicked  looks  began  to  fade  from  their  eyes,  for 
they  were  not  anxious  to  kill  me  if  any  other  solution  of  the 
difficulty  could  be  found. 

They  were  eager  to  know  what  I  had  to  suggest,  and  listened 
very  attentively  when  I  told  them  it  would  not  be  humiliating  to 
any  one.  I  told  them  I  was  pleased  to  find  some  young  men 
who  were  willing  to  stand  up  for  their  mothers,  while  the  great 
majority  treated  them  worse  than  they  did  their  dogs.  My  sug- 
gestion was,  that  the  sons  of  each  mother  should  form  a  wigwam 
of  their  own,  and  take  their  own  mother  with  them  and  care  for 
her.  They  were  good  hunters  and  strong  men,  and  could  do  well. 
Then  I  added,  "  Let  your  father  remain  with  the  wife  who  has 
no  children,  no  strong  sons  or  daughters.  Do  this,  and  the  Great 
Spirit  will  be  pleased,  and  when  you  are  further  instructed  there 
will  be  nothing  to  prevent  you  all  being  baptized  and  becoming 
Christians  together." 

They  were  much  pleased  with  the  suggestion,  and  went  away 
to  talk  it  over.  I  did  not  succeed  in  getting  the  scheme  imme- 
diately carried  out,  but  my  successor,  the  devoted  and  heroic  Rev. 
John  Semmens,  was  so  successful  in  following  up  the  work  thus 
begun,  that  these  Indians,  with  many  scores  of  others,  have 
become  sincere,  consistent  Christians. 

Various  were  the  plans  adopted  by  my  zealous,  devoted  wife 
and  myself  to  help  the  people  up  to  a  better  and  happier  life. 
In  their  old  ways  there  were  but  few  efforts  made  by  the  women 
to  keep  their  homes  neat  and  tidy,  and  their  children  or  them- 
selves clean.  They  had  no  encouragements  to  do  anything  of  the 
kind.  Kicked  and  cuffed  and  despised,  there  was  left  in  them  no 
ambition  to  do  anything  more  than  would  save  them  from  the 
rough  treatment  of  those  who  considered  themselves  their  lords 
and  masters.  The  result  was,  when  they  became  Christians,  there 
was  a  great  deal  to  learn  ere  their  simple  little  homes  could  be 
kept  decently  and  in  order.  Fortunately,  with  a  great  many  of 
them  there  was  a  desire  to  learn.  A  novel  plan  that  we  adopted, 
as  one  among  many  that  did  much  good,  was  occasionally  to  go 
and  dine  with  some  of  them.  Our  method  was  something  like 


230  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

this.  On  the  Sabbath  from  the  pulpit  I  would  announce  that  on 
Monday,  if  all  was  well,  Mrs.  Young  and  I  would  dine  with  such 
a  family,  mentioning  the  name.  On  Tuesday  we  would  dine  with 
some  one  else,  and  on  Wednesday  with  some  other  family,  and  so 
on  for  the  week.  This  was,  of  course,  the  first  intimation  any  of 
these  families  had  received  that,  without  waiting  for  an  invitation, 
the  Missionary  and  his  wife  were  coming  to  dine  with  them. 

After  service  they  waited  to  ask  us  if  they  could  believe  their 
own  ears. 
.  "Yes,  certainly,"  I  replied. 

"  Why,  we  have  nothing  to  set  before  you  but  fish,"  they 
would  say. 

"Never  mind  if  you  have  but  little;  we  will  see  to  the  food. 
All  we  are  anxious  for  you  to  do  is  to  have  your  little  house 
as  clean  as  you  can  possibly  make  it,  and  yourselves  and  children 
as  clean  and  nice  as  possible." 

In  this  way  we  would  talk  to  the  half-frightened  women,  who 
were  at  first  really  alarmed  at  the  prospect  of  having  to  entertain 
us ;  however,  our  words  comforted  them,  and  they  went  off 
delighted. 

Our  plan  was  generally  as  follows.  I  would  start  off  after 
breakfast  and  make  several  pastoral  visits,  or  attend  to  some 
other  matters,  and  so  arrange  my  forenoon  work  that  I  should  be 
able  to  reach  the  Indian  home,  where  that  day  we  had  announced 
to  dine,  about  noon.  Mrs.  Young  would  have  her  own  train  of 
dogs  harnessed  up  about  ten  o'clock.  In  her  cariole  she  would 
put  dishes,  tablecloth,  and  provisions,  with  everytliing  else 
requisite  for  a  comfortable  dinner  considering  our  limited  circum- 
stances. A  faithful  young  Indian  acted  as  her  dog-driver, 
and  soon  she  and  her  load  were  at  the  home  of  the  expectant 
family,  who  were  all  excitement  at  the  coming  of  the  Missionary 
and  his  wife. 

Very  clean  and  tidy  looked  the  little  house  and  family.  The 
floor  had  been  scrubbed  and  rubbed  until  it  could  not  be  made 
whiter,  and  everything  else  was  similarly  polished  up.  As  but 
very  few  of  the  houses  had  tables  in  those  days,  the  floor  was 
ever  used  as  the  substitute.  On  it  the  tablecloth  was  spread,  and 


PECULIAR  PASTORAL   DUTIES.  231 

the  dishes  and  knives  and  forks  were  arranged  in  order,  and  the 
dinner  prepared.  If  the  family  had  fish  and  potatoes,  some  of 
them  would  be  cooked;  but  if  not,  sufficient  was  always  taken 
in  the  cariole.  We  ever  found  it  best  to  let  them  contribute  to 
the  dinner  if  they  had  abundance  of  either  fish  or  potatoes. 

About  the  time  I  arrived  dinner  would  be  ready,  and  after 
cheering  words  of  greeting  to  all,  even  to  the  fat  papoose  in  the 
board  cradle,  we  sat  down,  picnic  style,  on  the  floor  to  dinner.  It 
would  be  called  in  civilised  lands  a  plain  dinner,  and  so  it  was ; 
yet  it  was  a  feast  to  them,  a  banquet  to  us.  Cheery  conversation 
added  to  our  enjoyment,  and  a  very  happy  hour  was  thus  spent. 
Then  the  Bible  and  hymn-books  were  brought  out,  and  together 
we  sang  and  read  and  talked  about  the  blessed  truths  of  that 
glorious  Book.  Then  together  we  kneeled  down,  and  "by  prayer 
and  supplication  with  thanksgiving  "  made  our  requests  known 
to  God ;  and  to  us  came  the  sweet  fulfilment,  "  the  peace  of  God, 
which  passeth  all  understanding,"  filled  our  hearts. 

I  generally  hurried  off  to  other  duties.  Mrs.  Young  directed 
in  the  washing  of  the  dishes  and  in  putting  them  away,  and 
then  helped  the  woman  of  the  house  in  some  things  about  which 
she  was  longing  for  assistance.  Perhaps  it  was  a  dress  to  be 
cut  out  for  herself,  or  some  garments  fitted  on  some  of  the  girls, 
or  other  similar  things  too  intricate  or  difficult  for  my  obtuse 
mind  to  be  able  to  grasp. 

Thus  from  house  to  house  we  would  go,  and  by  our  presence 
and  cheery  words  encourage  them  to  become  more  industrious 
and  tidy.  Those  families  never  forgot  these  visits.  With  many 
of  them  there  was  a  marked  change  in  their  homes,  and  with 
many  also  there  was  a  marked  improvement  in  their  religious  life. 

Once,  in  preaching  from  the  text,  "  Behold,  I  stand  at  the 
door,  and  knock :  if  any  man  hear  My  voice,  and  open  the  door, 
I  will  come  in,"  I  tried  to  describe  the  blessed  Redeemer  coming 
to  our  hearts  and  knocking  for  admittance.  I  -told  them,  all 
He  wanted  was  a  welcome  to  come  in.  As  they  made  their 
little  houses  so  clean,  and  gave  the  Missionary  and  his  wife  such 
a  welcome,  so  the  Saviour  asked  us  to  drive  all  sin  out,  and  give 
Him  all  the  place. 


232  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

"  Some  of  you  said,  *  We  cannot  entertain  the  Missionary ;  we 
have  no  food,  so  there  will  be  110  dinner.'  But  the  Missionary 
and  his  wife  brought  abundance,  and  there  was  a  good  dinner. 
Better  far  is  it  when  Jesus  comes.  He  spreads  out  the  feast, 
and  He  invites  us  to  sit  down  and  feast  with  Him.  O  let  Him 
in!" 

Such  talks  as  these,  after  practical  illustrations,  opened  many 
hearts  to  the  Heavenly  Guest. 

So  many  and  importunate  had  been  the  pleading  calls  for  visits 
to  different  places,  to  tell  the  wonderful  story  of  the  Great  Spirit 
and  His  Son,  and  to  teach  the  people  to  read  His  Book,  that  one 
year  my  canoe  trip  to  Oxford  House  Mission  had  to  be  delayed 
until  the  summer  was  nearly  ended.  But  my  comrades  were 
splendid  fellows,  and  we  started  off  in  good  spirits,  anticipating 
a  successful  visit ;  and  we  were  not  disappointed. 

We  preached  several  times  to  the  Indians,  and  baptized  a  large 
number  of  children ;  some  young  couples  were  married,  and 
we  had  a  solemn  and  blessed  time  when  celebrating  the  dying 
of  the  Lord  Jesus.  The  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is 
very  much  prized  by  the  Indians,  and  the  greatest  reverence  is 
always  manifested  during  the  service.  The  fellowship  meeting 
was  a  very  good  one,  and  some  of  the  testimonies  given  by  the 
men  and  women,  so  happily  rescued  by  the  Gospel's  power,  were 
of  great  interest. 

When  travelling,  if  the  weather  was  good,  we  generally  rose 
with  the  first  blush  of  morn,  and  so  were  often  on  the  way  by 
four  o'clock.  Sometimes  our  route  was  across  fine  lakes,  or  along 
majestic  rivers ;  and  then  we  were  in  narrow,  sluggish  streams, 
that  were  destitute  of  beauty  or  interest.  One  morning  our  way 
was  down  a  large  river,  on  the  shores  of  which  the  fog  had  settled, 
completely  hiding  us  from  land.  The  early  morning  air  was  in- 
vigorating, and  so  in  unison  we  were  plying  our  paddles  vigorously, 
and  rapidly  speeding  along.  We  had  seen  no  signs  of  human 
beings  for  days,  and  so  were  surprised  and  startled  when  several 
reports  of  firearms  in  quick  succession  sounded  sharp  and  clear 
through  the  fog  on  our  right.  Nothing  was  visible  through  the 
gloom,  but  we  quickly  hove  to,  and  turned  our  canoe  in  the 


A   SUCCESSFUL  FISH  SERMON.  233 

direction  from  which  the  feu-de-joie  had  sounded.  As  we 
approached  the  shore  human  forms  began  to  appear  in  ghostly 
outline,  more  and  more  distinct,  until  they  resolved  themselves 
into  a  company  of  Indians,  who  were  delighted  to  see  us,  and 
had  been  on  the  look-out  for  days.  They  had  come  sixty  miles 
from  the  interior,  and  had  camped  on  that  point  jutting  out  into 
the  river,  for  the  purpose  of  having  a  visit  from  us  as  we  passed. 

The  fact  that  they  detected  us  as  we  were  passing  was  another 
evidence  of  the  marvellous  education,  in  certain  lines,  of  these 
Indians.  It  was  very  early  in  the  morning ;  our  canoe  was  some 
hundreds  of  yards  from  the  shore ;  a  dense  fog  hid  us  completely 
from  each  other.  All  the  noise  we  made  was  the  dip  of  our 
paddles  in  the  water.  Yet  these  wide-awake,  alert  Indians  heard 
that  sound,  and  by  the  rapid  firing  of  the  guns  drew  us  to  them. 

We  shared  their  hospitality,  as  they  had  abundance  of  -game. 
We  had  service  with  them,  married  a  young  couple,  baptized 
several  children,  and  had  a  pleasant  time.  Then  on  we  hurried, 
since  the  time  of  open  navigation  was  drawing  to  a  close,  and  we 
did  not  wish  to  be  caught  in  the  ice,  and  have  to  walk  perhaps 
scores  of  miles  with  our  bedding,  provisions,  kettles,  axes,  and 
other  things  strapped  on  our  backs. 

We  made  the  greater  part  of  the  return  trip  all  right,  had 
reached  Harry  Lake  early  in  the  forenoon,  and  were  rapidly 
paddling  out  of  the  river  which  entered  into  it,  when  again  we 
heard  the  report  of  guns.  So  anxious  were  we  to  get  on  that 
we  hesitated  about  stopping.  It  was  now  later  in  the  season 
than  often  in  some  other  years.  Fierce  storms  had  raged,  and 
the  ice  had  formed  on  the  lake  and  rivers.  We  were  dreading 
these  fierce  fall  storms,  which  come  down,  very  suddenly,  and  stir 
up  those  northern  lakes,  so  that  in  a  very  short  time  where  all 
was  calm  and  still,  great  foam-crested  waves  go  rushing  madly  by. 

The  lake  before  us,  into  which  we  had  just  entered  and  which 
was  several  miles  in  diameter,  was  now  as  placid  as  a  pond. 

To  cross  it  now,  as  in  wondrous  beauty  it  spread  before  us, 
would  be  but  a  pleasure  jaunt.  The  poetry  of  motion  is  to  be 
found  in  the  Indian's  birch  canoe,  when  the  water  is  calm  and 
the  sky  is  clear.  Cold-hearted  prudence  said,  "  Go  on,  and  never 


234  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

mind  those  Indians'  signals  for  you  to  land."  Our  better  natures 
said,  "They  may  be  in  need,  and  have  good  reason  for  asking 
you  to  stop.  Perhaps  you  can  do  them  good."  So  we  turned 
the  head  of  our  canoe  to  the  shore,  and  were  soon  alongside  the 
rock  on  which  we  saw  them  standing.  They  were  five  hunters. 
Without  getting  out  of  the  canoe,  we  asked  why  they  had  signalled 
to  us  to  come  ashore.  Their  answer  was  one  we  had  often  heard 
before.  They  were  hungry,  and  wanted  help.  Finding  they  had 
only  been  a  few  days  away  from  the  Fort,  where  they  had  got 
supplies,  I  asked  how  it  was  that  they  were  so  badly  off.  Their 
reply  was  that  they  had  unfortunately  left  their  powder,  which 
they  were  carrying  in  a  canvas  bag,  out  on  the  rock  a  few  nights 
before.  While  they  slept  the  rain  came  down  upon  them  and 
ruined  it,  and  ^  they  could  not  shoot  anything.  I  quickly  said 
to  one  of  my  men,  "  How  much  food  have  we  ?  "  He  examined 
our  limited  supply,  and  then  said  there  was  about  one  square 
meal. 

We  found  these  men  were  pagan  Indians,  whom  I  had  met 
before,  and  had  talked  with  about  becoming  Christians ;  but  all 
I  could  get  from  them  was  the  characteristic  Indian  shrug  of  the 
shoulders,  and  the  words,  "  As  our  fathers  lived,  so  will  we."  Our 
dinner  was  the  last  of  a  bear  we  had  shot  a  few  days  before.  While 
it  was  cooking  the  storm  which  we  feared  began  to  gather,  and 
ere  our  dinner  was  finished  the  lake  looked  very  different  from 
what  it  was  an  hour  before,  if  we  had  not  stopped,  we  could  have 
easily  got  across  it.  As  it  was  now,  it  would  have  been  madness  to 
have  ventured  out  upon  it.  So  we  had  to  pull  up  our  canoe,  and 
there,  as  contentedly  as  possible,  wait  for  the  storm  to  cease.  It 
raged  furiously  all  that  day  and  the  next.  The  third  day  it  began 
to  moderate.  What  made  it  worse  for  us  was  the  scarcity,  or 
rather  the  entire  absence,  of  food.  We  were  unfortunately 
storm-bound  in  about  the  worst  part  of  that  country  for  game. 
It  was  so  late  in  the  season  that  the  ducks  and  geese  had  gone 
south,  the  beaver  and  musk-rats  were  in  their  houses,  and  we 
could  find  nothing.  On  some  of  our  trips  we  carried  fishing- 
tackle,  but  this  time  we  had  nothing  of  the  kind.  Fortunately 
we  had  some  tea  and  sugar. 


A   THREE  DAYS'  FAST.  235 

Without  breakfast,  dinner,  or  supper,  we  had  to  live  on  as  best 
we  could.  Before  we  lay  down  to  sleep  there  had  to  be  a  con- 
siderable tightening  of  the  belts,  or  there  would  be  no  sleep  at 
all,  so  keen  were  the  gnawings  of  hunger.  I  found  it  helpful  to 
sleep  to  roll  up  my  towel  as  hard  as  possible,  and  then  crowd  it 
under  my  tight  belt  over  the  pit  of  my  stomach.  Nearly  three 
days  without  food  was  no  pleasant  ordeal  even  in  missionary 
work. 

We  held  several  religious  services,  even  though  our  congregation 
was  a  small  one.  We  also  found  out  that  it  was  not  at  all  help- 
ful to  piety  to  try  to  worship  on  an  empty  stomach,  and  have  been 
ever  since  in  great  sympathy  with  those  who  would  feed  the  poor 
first,  and  then  preach  to  them. 

The  third  day  one  of  the  Indians,  while  walking  along  the 
shore,  found  the  old  bleached  shoulder-blade  of  a  bear.  With  his 
knife  he  carved  out  a  rude  fish-hook,  and,  taking  the  strings  of 
his  moccasins  and  others',  he  formed  a  line.  A  piece  of  red 
flannel  was  used  as  bait,  and  a  small  stone  served  as  a  sinker. 
With  this  primitive  arrangement  he  began  fishing.  His  method 
was  to  stand  on  a  rock  and  throw  the  hook  out  as  far  as  his  line 
would  permit,  and  then  draw  it  in  rapidly,  like  trolling. 

Strange  to  say,  with  this  rude  appliance  he  caught  a  fish. 
It  was  a  pike  weighing  six  or  eight  pounds.  Very  quickly  was 
it  scaled,  cleaned,  and  put  in  the  pot.  When  cooked,  about  a 
third  of  it  was  put  on  my  tin  plate,  and  placed  before  me  with 
these  words :  "  Please,  Missionary,  eat."  I  looked  at  the 
hungry  men  around  me  and  said,  "  No,  that  is  not  the  way." 
And  then  I  put  back  the  third  of  the  fish  with  the  rest,  and, 
taking  out  my  hunting  knife,  I  counted  the  company,  and  then 
cut  the  fish  into  eight  pieces,  and  gave  each  man  his  eighth, 
and  took  an  equal  portion  myself.  It  was  right  that  I  should 
thus  act,  and  it  seemed  to  be  a  little  thing  to  do,  but  it  was  a 
sermon  that  led  those  five  men  to  become  Christians.  As  soon  as 
they  had  finished  their  portions  they  lit  their  pipes,  and  as  they 
smoked  they  talked ;  and  as  near  as  I  and  my  men  could  make 
out,  here  is  what  they  said : 

**  We  must  listen  with  both  ears  to  that  Missionary.     He  is  here 


236  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

without  food,  suffering  from  hunger,  because  he  stopped  to  share 
with  us  his  last  meal.  We  caught  a  fish,  and  when  we  offered 
him  a  large  piece  he  refused  it,  and  divided  equally  with  us  all. 
He  has  been  anxious  to  do  us  good  and  to  have  us  to  listen  to  his 
words.  He  has  not  once  scolded  us  for  asking  him  to  stop, 
although  he  could  have  got  across  the  lake  before  the  storm  arose, 
and,  as  the  rest  of  the  way  is  in  the  river,  he  could  have  gone  on 
home.  He  has  shown  himself  to  be  our  friend,  and  we  must 
listen  to  what  he  has  to  say."  Thus  they  went  on,  and  I  must 
confess  I  paid  but  little  attention  to  what  they  were  saying. 
After  a  few  hours  more  the  storm  went  down,  and  we  gladly 
embarked  that  evening  in  our  canoe  and  pushed  on. 

The  next  day  we  reached  the  Mission  village  of  Rossville,. 
making  our  last  portage  at  Sea  River  Falls,  near  Norway  House ; 
and  as  we  saw  the  fish  and  venison  hanging  on  the  stagings  around 
the  houses  of  the  people,  my  patient  fellows  cried  out,  "  We 
should  like  to  laugh  at  the  sight  of  food,  but  we  are  too  empty 
altogether." 

We  paddled  the  last  mile  as  quickly  as  we  had  any  other,  and 
kept  up  our  courage  until  we  were  home.  As  I  entered  the 
house,  a  strange  faintness  came  over  me,  and  all  the  welcome 
words  I  could  give  to  my  loved  ones  were,  "My  dear,  we  are 
starving ;  please  get  us  some  food."  Then  I  sank  down  exhausted. 
Loving  care  from  one  of  the  best  and  bravest  of  wives  quickly 
brought  me  round  again,  and  I  was  soon  ready  to  be  off  on  another 
trip. 

The  long  winter  passed  away,  and  the  welcome  summer  came 
at  last.  We  have  really  very  little  of  spring  in  that  northern  land. 
The  transition  from  winter  to  summer  is  very  rapid.  With  the  dis- 
appearance of  the  ice  from  the  lakes  and  rivers  came  the  Indians 
in  their  birch  canoes,  from  various  quarters  where  they  had  spent 
the  winter  in  trapping  the  fur-bearing  animals.  As  usual  they 
came  to  see  the  Missionary  in  goodly  numbers.  Among  those 
who  thus  honoured  us  were  five  big  men,  who,  after  a  few  words 
•of  greeting,  said,  "  We  hope  you  have  not  forgotten  the  fish ;  we 
have  not,  and  we  want  to  have  a  talk  with  you." 

"  I  said.    "  Why,  we  have  fish  twenty-one  times  a  week. 


238  BY  CANOE  AND   DOG-TRAIN. 

boiled,  baked,  fried,  salt,  dried, — good,  bad,  and  indifferent.  I 
have  seen  so  many  fishes,  I  cannot  think  of  any  one  in  par- 
ticular." 

Then  they  told  me  about  the  long  delay  by  the  storm,  when  I 
had  stopped  and  fed  them,  at  the  time  when  they  had  not  kept 
their  powder  dry ;  and  how,  when  one  of  them  caught  a  fish  and 
offered  me  a  good-sized  piece,  I  divided  it  equally  among  them. 
As  they  brought  the  incident  back  to  my  memory,  for  there  were 
so  many  strange  adventures  occurring  in  the  wild  life  that  this 
one  had  partly  faded,  I  said  :  "  Yes,  I  now  remember  there  did 
happen  something  of  the  kind." 

Very  earnestly  spoke  up  one  of  them  and  said :  "  We  have 
never  forgotten  it,  and  all  through  the  moons  of  the  winter  we 
have  talked  about  it  and  your  lessons  out  of  the  great  Book. 
And  while  up  to  that  time  we  had  decided  not  to  be  Christians, 
but  to  die  as  did  our  fathers,  we  have  changed  our  minds  since 
that  time  you  divided  the  fish,  and  we  want  you  to  teach  us  more 
and  more  of  this  good  way." 

They  were  intensely  in  earnest  and  fully  decided  for  Christ. 
So  five  more  families  settled  down  in  the  Christian  village,  and 
are  giving  evidence  by  their  lives  and  conversation  that  the 
change  wrought  in  them  was  real  and  abiding.  Their  conversion 
in  this  peculiar  way  was  very  cheering  to  us,  and  it  was  another 
lesson  to  be  "instant  in  season,  out  of  season," 


CHAPTER  XX. 

EXPLORING    NEW  FIELDS — THE   GOSPEL    BEFORE    TREATIES — BIO    TOM'S 
NOBLE   SPIRIT   OF  SELF-SACRIFICE. 

IN  1873  I  received  a  most  urgent  request  from  a  deputation  of 
Indians  to  go  and  visit  a  band  of  their  countrymen  who  lived 
on  the  western  side  of  Lake  Winnipeg  at  a  place  called  Jack 
Head.  They  were  getting  unsettled  and  uneasy  in  their  minds 
in  reference  to  their  lands.  Treaties  were  being  made  with  other 
tribes,  but  nothing  as  yet  had  been  done  for  them ;  and  as 
surveyors  and  other  white  men  had  been  seen  in  their  country, 
they  were  suspicious,  and  wanted  to  know  what  they  had  better  do. 

So,  after  many  councils  among  themselves,  they  decided  to  send 
over  into  the  land  of  the  Crees  and  Salteaux  for  their  Missionary 
to  come  and  give  them  advice,  in  order  that  they  too  might  make 
a  treaty  with  the  Government  of  the  Queen. 

I  felt  much  pleased  on  receiving  this  deputation ;  and  as  it 
would  give  me  a  grand  opportunity  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  a 
people  who  had  not  as  yet  heard  it,  I  consented  to  go.  With 
two  dog-trains,  and  accompanied  by  a  couple  of  trusty  Indians, 
we  left  the  Eastern  side  of  the  great  Lake  Winnipeg  about 
sunrise.  We  dug  a  hole  in  the  snow  at  Pigeon  Point,  and  there 
made  a  fire  of  some  dry  young  willows,  and  enjoyed  our  breakfast. 
From  that  point  we  struck  out  in  a  south-west  direction  across 
the  great  lake.  The  day,  although  cold,  was  a  very  bright  one. 
The  ice  was  good,  and  our  dogs  were  magnificent  fellows ;  and  so 
we  sped  along  at  a  rapid  rate.  We  reached  a  chain  of  little 
islands  out  in  the  middle  of  the  lake  early  in  the  afternoon.  On 
the  shore  of  one  of  them  we  gathered  some  dry  wood,  cleared 


240  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

away  the  snow,  made  a  fire,  melted  some  snow,  and  made  our- 
selves a  good  kettle  of  tea.  This,  with  some  pemmican  and  flat 
cakes,  made  us  a  capital  dinner. 

From  this  island  the  western  shore  of  the  lake  was  just  visible, 
over  thirty  miles  away.  Towards  it  we  pushed  as  rapidly  as 
possible,  considering  that  one  of  our  Indians  was  quite  an  old 
man.  When  within  about  three  miles  of  the  shore,  the  report 
of  fire-arms  reached  our  ears,  telling  us  that  the  Indians  had 
observed  our  coming.  Our  noble  dogs  seemed  to  rejoice  at  the 
sound  as  much  as  ourselves,  and,  well  knowing  that  their  day's 
journey  of  over  sixty  miles  was  nearly  ended,  changed  their 
swinging  trot  into  a  gallop ;  and  very  soon  we  were  at  Jack  Head, 
and  among  its  plumed  and  painted  inhabitants,  by  whom  we  were 
received  in  a  most  extraordinary  manner.  ^ 

At  some  other  places  where  I  have  gone  as  the  first  Missionary 
who  ever  visited  them,  I  have  had  two  or  three  hundred  men, 
women,  and  children  trying  to  see  who  could  be  the  first  to  kiss 
me;  but  here  the  reception  was  very  different.  Night  was  just 
falling  upon  us  as  we  drew  near  the  shore,  but  there  was  light 
enough  to  observe  that  the  narrow  trail,  up  from  the  lake  into 
the  dark  recesses  of  the  forest,  along  which  we  must  pass  with 
our  dog- trains,  was  lined  with  men  armed  with  guns. 

When  we  were  about  a  hundred  yards  from  them,  the  foremost 
ones  began  firing.  This  feu-dejoie  continued  until  we  had  reached 
them  and  had  dashed  through  the  lines  of  fire,  for  they  continued 
loading  and  firing  as  rapidly  as  possible.  Our  ears  were  almost 
deafened  with  the  continuous  reports,  and  our  nerves*  were  some- 
what tried,  as  the  younger  braves  especially  consider  it  great  fun 
to  fire  off  their  heavy  charges  of  powder  as  close  to  their  visitors' 
heads  as  possible.  But  a  well-singed  fur  cap  was  the  only 
evidence  of  harm  having  been  done. 

To  increase  the  welcome,  they  courteously  brought  out  for  our 
special  benefit  the  few  English  and  French  words  of  which  they 
were  masters.  Some  of  them  were  most  ludicrously  out  of  place. 
It  did  require  a  good  deal  of  nerve  to  keep  my  face  straight  when 
a  grave  and  dignified  chief,  who  wished  to  inquire  politely  as  to 
my  health,  for  the  moment  dropped  his  own  language,  and  in 


242  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

good  English  said,  "  Does  your  mother  know  you're  out  1 "  I 
found  out  afterwards  that  a  roguish  fur-trader  had  taught  him 
the  expression,  as  a  very  polite  one  to  use  to  distinguished 
strangers. 

We  quickly  unharnessed  and  fed  our  faithful  dogs.  We  hung 
up  in  the  trees  our  sleds  and  harness  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
wolfish  curs,  which  in  large  numbers  prowled  around.  If  they 
could  get  the  opportunity,  they  would  make  short  work  of  the 
deer-skin  and  raw-hide  fastenings  of  the  sleds,  and  the  harness 
would  entirely  disappear,  with  perhaps  the  exception  of  the 
buckles.  We  waited  until  our  big  dogs  had  given  a  few  of  the 
most  impudent  and  saucy  of  these  brutes  a  good  thrashing,  so 
that  there  was  some  prospect  of  peace  ;  and  then,  feeling  that  our 
outside  work  was  attended  to,  and  that  the  Indians  had  had  time 
to  get  arranged  in  their  council  room,  we  went  to  the  door,  and 
were  ceremoniously  ushered  in.  The  council  house  was  a  large 
square  log  building  of  much  better  construction  than  I  had 
expected  to  see.  It  was  without  partitions,  and  was  lighted  by  the 
brilliant  council  fire,  and  a  number  of  fish  oil  lamps  hanging  from 
the  walls.  At  the  places  of  honour  were  seated  the  chiefs  of  the 
band.  Their  "  thrones  of  state  "  were  curiously  woven  mats  of 
rushes  made  by  the  Indian  women.  Their  head-dresses  were 
gorgeous  masses  of  feathers,  and  their  costume  was  very  pic- 
turesque. Some  of  them  had  not  yet  adopted  the  pantaloons 
of  civilisation,  but  wore  instead  the  scant  leggings  of  native 
manufacture. 

From  the  chiefs  on  either  side,  and  extending  around  the  room 
in  circles,  were  the  old  men  and  warriors  and  hunters,  ranged 
according  to  their  rank  and  standing.  Behind  these  were  the 
young  men  and  boys.  All  were  seated  on  the  ground,  and  all 
were  silent,  as  I  entered.  The  chiefs  were  fine-looking  men,  and 
there  was  that  indescribable  hauteur  now  so  rarely  seen  among 
this  interesting  people.  Crowded  out  behind  the  men  and  boys, 
and  in  many  places  packed  against  the  walls  of  the  house,  were 
the  women  and  girls.  While  the  men  were  in  many  instances 
well  and  often  brilliantly  dressed  in  their  finery,  the  women  and 
girls  were  wretchedly  clothed,  and  miserable  in  appearance. 


THE  INDIAN  COVNCIL.  243 

The  house  was  filled,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  space 
reserved  at  the  right  hand  of  the  principal  chief  for  the  visitors. 
With  a  good  deal  of  ceremony  we  were  escorted  to  our  seats.  For 
me  they  had  obtained  a  little  box,  on  which  a  fur  robe  was 
placed,  as  they  said  afterwards,  that  they  had  heard  that  white 
men  cannot  sit  comfortably  on  the  ground.  On  this  I  seated 
myself  next  to  the  chief,  and  my  attendant  Indians  ranged  them- 
selves beside  me.  During  the  profound  silence  that  lasted  for 
several  minutes  after  our  entrance,  I  had  a  good  opportunity  to 
grasp  the  situation.  I  breathed  an  earnest  prayer  to  God  for  the 
much-needed  wisdom,  and  that  I  might  here  preach  the  Gospel 
in  such  a  way  that  it  might  be  understood  and  accepted  by  this 
people,  the  majority  of  whom  had  not  as  yet  heard  the  glad 
tidings  of  salvation. 

Then  I  rose  up  and,  addressing  the  chief,  I  said :  "  I  have  come 
at  your  request  from  across  the  great  Winnipeg,  to  visit  you  and 
to  meet  you  at  your  council  fire.  I  will  preach  to  you  and  dis- 
cuss treaty  matters  with  you,  and  will  help  you  all  I  can  with 
the  Government.  I  want  to  find  out  your  views  about  giving  up 
your  old  paganism  and  becoming  Christians.  I  also  want  to 
know  how  many  children  you  have  among  you,  and  if  you  desire 
a  school  for  them.  So  I  am  here  for  these  reasons." 

When  I  sat  down,  the  calumet,  the  pipe  of  peace,  was  gravely 
lit,  and  after  the  chief  had  puffed  away  at  it,  he  handed  it  to  me. 
As  I  have  not  as  yet  acquired  the  art  of  smoking,  I  adopted  the 
plan  of  taking  hold  of  the  long  stem,  which  is  over  a  yard  in 
length,  by  the  middle.  The  result  was  that  when  my  hand  was 
near  my  mouth,  the  mouthpiece  of  the  pipe  was  a  foot  or  so 
behind  my  head.  As  previously  arranged,  one  of  my  obliging 
Indians  was  always  on  hand  to  do  my  smoking. 

After  the  pipe  ceremony  was  over,  the  chief  began  his  address 
of  welcome.  He  said  a  good  many  kind  things,  and  told  me  of 
their  anxieties  as  to  their  future  and  that  of  their  children.  The 
fire-canoe  (the  steamboat)  was  rushing  through  the  waters,  de- 
stroying their  fisheries.  The  white  hunters,  with  their  fire  guns 
and  steel  traps,  were  fast  killing  off  the  game.  The  surveyor  was 
driving  his  lines  of  stakes  into  the  ground,  and  the  white  people, 


244  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

more  numerous  than  mosquitoes,  were  crowding  in  on  the  prairies 
They  had  nothing  but  peace  in  their  hearts,  but  still  he  could 
not  help  thinking  that  a  treaty  ought  to  be  made  with  them 
before  the  fire  canoe  or  the  surveyor  came.  They  were  powerless 
themselves  to  speak  before  the  Queen's  representative,  the 
Governor.  They  had  heard  of  the  Missionary's  love  for  the 
Indian,  and  so  they  had  sent  across  the  great  Winnipeg  for  him, 
and  their  hearts  were  glad  that  he  had  come.  With  their  right 
hands  they  had  fired  off  their  guns,  which  all  said,  "  Welcome  ! " 
With  his  left  hand  he  had  handed  the  pipe  of  peace,  which  also 
from  the  heart  again  said,  "  Welcome  !  "  Their  hearts  were  all 
glad  that  with  their  eyes  they  saw  the  Missionary  among  them. 
Their  ears  were  now  open  to  hear  what  he  had  to  say  about  their 
future,  and  what  he  thought  the  Queen's  men  would  do  for  them. 

Then  he  sat  down  on  his  mat,  and  I  rose  up  and  in  reply  said : 
"  Before  I  dare  talk  to  you  about  treaties,  arid  lands,  and  your 
future  for  this  life,  and  that  of  your  children,  I  must  speak 
about  something  more  important." 

This  seemed  to  astonish  them,  and  they  said  :  "  What  has  he 
got  to  talk  about  that  is  more  important  than  the  treaty  ? " 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  "  I  have  something  more  important  than 
the  treaty,  and  something  to  say  about  One  greater  than  the 
Queen,  or  the  Governor  she  sends;  for  I  must  first  talk  about 
our  great  God,  Whom  the  Queen  and  we  all  must  love  if  we 
would  be  happy.  The  Great  Spirit,  our  good  Father  in  heaven, 
wants  to  make  a  treaty  with  us ;  and  if  we  will  be  willing  to 
comply  with  His  conditions,  it  will  be  the  best  treaty  ever  made, 
for  it  will  bring  us  joy  and  happiness  for  this  life  and  the  life  to 
come." 

Loud  were  their  words  of  approval  that  I  should  thus  speak  to 
them ;  and  so  I  preached  to  them,  making  use  of  my  trusted  and 
careful  interpreter,  Timothy  Bear,  who  is  as  thorough  a  master 
of  the  Saulteaux  language  as  he  is  of  the  Cree.  Considering  that 
it  was  the  first  sermon  they  had  ever  heard,  and  that  their  ideas 
of  our  worship  were  very  crude,  they  behaved  remarkably  well, 
seeing  they  were  a  crowd  of  plumed  and  painted  savages,  and 
Saulteaux  besides.  They  kept  up  a  constant  smoking  through  all 


PREACHING    UNDER  DIFFICULTIES.  245 

the  service,  except  when  we  were  singing  or  at  prayer.  Men, 
women,  and  children  were  all  at  it,  and  it  seemed  as  though  they 
were  always  at  it. 

Before  I  got  through  my  sermon  I  was  almost  suffocated  by 
the  smoke.  The  cloud,  not  that  for  which  we  had  prayed,  over- 
whelmed us,  blinded  us,  and  nearly  smothered  us.  It  was  the 
cloud  of  their  vile  weeds  and  tobacco.  As  well  as  I  could  I  talked 
to  them  of  God  and  His  love,  and  of  the  way  of  salvation,  and  the 
blessings  which  would  come  to  them  if  they  would  cheerfully  and 
heartily  accept  Him.  We  then  sang  the  Jubilee  hymn, 

"Blow  ye  the  trumpet,  blow." 

This  hymn  has  been  translated  into  their  language.  The  tune 
we  used  was  "  Lennox,"  and  I  urged  them  to  help  us  to  sing.  I 
gave  out  the  hymn  verse  by  verse,  and  said,  "  Sing  as  well  as  you 
can  "  Some  followed  very  well,  and  others,  while  trying  to  follow 
the  words,  seemed  to  have  substituted  for  the  tune  one  of  their 
Indian  lilts.  After  the  religious  service  was  over,  we  hastily 
boiled  our  kettles,  made  tea,  and  had  our  suppers,  for  we  had 
travelled  far,  and  were  very  hungry.  The  Indians  had  nothing 
themselves  but  tea,  fish,  and  tobacco.  I  never  saw  such  smokers. 
Even  little  unweaned  children  were  adepts  in  the  use  of  the  pipe. 

After  tea  the  ceremonious  speeches  were  delivered.  The  head 
chief  was  of  course  the  first  to  speak  again.  His  address  was  very 
complimentary.  He  said  he  had  been  gazing  all  day  long  across 
the  great  lake  watching  for  my  coming.  Although  it  was  several 
moons  since,  I  had  promised  that  in  this  one,  if  possible,  I  would 
be  on  hand.  My  coming  just  at  the  time  I  did,  showed  that  I 
was  a  man  of  my  word,  and  could  be  depended  upon. 

"  We  feel,"  he  said,  "that  we  Indians  are  but  children  in  the 
presence  of  the  whites.  Great  changes  are  taking  place.  The 
buffalo  and  deer  once  so  abundant  are  fast  disappearing.  Our 
fathers  told  us  long  ago  that  the  buffalo  was  the  special  gift  of 
the  Great  Spirit  to  the  Indian,  and  that  when  it  disappeared  the 
Indian  must  go  also.  But  in  your  words  you  tell  us  good  things 
about  the  Great  Spirit,  and  we  are  thankful  that  you  have  come. 
We  wish  you  could  live  among  us  and  thus  talk  to  us." 


246  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

Thus  he  and  others  talked  for  a  long  time. 

We  went  over  the  business  of  the  approaching  treaty,  and  1 
told  them  all  I  knew  about  the  matter,  and  assured  them  that 
they  need  have  no  fear  or  alarm.  The  Dominion  Government 
would  treat  them  honourably  and  fairly.  More  tobacco  was 
smoked,  and  extra  kettles  of  tea  were  made  and  drunk,  and  then 
I  was  told  that  as  an  additional  mark  of  their  thankfulness  to  me 
for  thus  coming  with  these  assuring  and  quieting  words,  they  now 
wished  to  give  me  the  tribal  ceremony  of  the  greatest  welcome, 
which  was  only  given  at  rare  intervals,  and  then  only  when  the 
best  of  news  came  to  them. 

The  room  was  quickly  rearranged  for  the  ceremony.  The 
crowd  in  the  centre  of  the  room  was  moved  back,  much  to  the 
discomfort  of  the  women  and  girls,  some  of  whom  were  roughly 
ejected  to  make  room  for  their  tyrants  and  masters.  Then  some 
drums  were  brought  in,  and  between  twenty  and  thirty  of  the 
most  active  and  agile  young  men,  dressed,  or  rather  undressed,  in 
their  picturesque  way,  seated  themselves  closely  around  the  men 
who  were  to  act  as  drummers.  The  first  part  of  the  ceremony 
was  supposed  to  be  a  kind  of  a  concert,  part  musical  and  part 
pantomime. 

To  describe  it  with  its  monotonous  drumming  and  shrill  songs, 
which  they  said  were  words  of  welcome,  is  altogether  beyond  my 
powers.  At  certain  places  in  the  songs,  ten  or  twenty  of  the 
young  men  would  spring  up  in  their  places,  and  without  moving 
their  feet  from  the  ground  would  go  through  such  strong, 
undulating,  graceful  motions,  and  yet  all  in  such  perfect  unison 
with  each  other  and  with  the  music,  that  I  was  almost  fascinated 
by  the  strange  weird  beauty  of  the  scene. 

Then  their  programme  changed,  and  rapidly  they  glided  around 
in  simple  and  intricate  movements,  but  all  in  perfect  time  to  the 
songs  and  drums. 

Not  satisfied  with  giving  me  the  welcome  of  their  own  tribe, 
they  also  gave  me  the  still  more  exciting  Sioux  welcome,  and  also 
that  of  the  wild  Crees  in  the  Saskatchewan.  Until  long  after 
midnight  these  scenes  were  being  enacted.  Then  word  was 
passed  round  that  the  eupply  of  tobacco  devoted  to  the  welcome 


A   YOUNG   INDIAN   WITH   HIS  CANOE   AT  THE   FOOT  OF  THB  RUDE  WATEB 


248  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

ceremonies  was  exhausted,  for  through  all  of  these  scenes  the 
pipes  were  only  out  of  the  mouths  of  the  performers.  All  the 
rest  of  the  crowd  smoked  without  apparent  cessation. 

This  intimation  of  the  exhaustion  of  the  supply  of  tobacco 
abruptly  closed  the  ceremony.  Such  is  their  custom.  Some 
more  tea  was  made  and  drunk  by  the  chiefs.  Then  the  Mission- 
ary's hand  was  shaken,  and  the  people  quickly  flitted  away  to 
their  wigwams.  A  supper,  consisting  of  beautiful  fish,  called 
"  gold  eyes,"  which  are  caught  by  the  young  Indians  in  the  rapid 
river  at  the  foot  of  the  Rude  Water  Slide,  was  then  much 
enjoyed. 

One  of  my  faithful  Indians  brought  in  my  camp  bed,  and 
unrolled  it  near  the  council  fire.  I  rolled  myself  up  in  a  blanket 
and  buffalo  robe,  and  there  on  the  ground  I  soon  fell  asleep,  for  I 
was  very  weary.  At  daybreak  we  arose,  and  had  our  breakfast 
cooked  at  the  council  fire.  While  eating  it,  many  of  the  Indians 
crowded  in  to  see  us  ere  we  left  for  our  home  across  Lake 
Winnipeg.  With  them  we  held  another  religious  service.  I 
talked  kindly  and  faithfully  to  them,  and  urged  them  to  decide 
speedily  to  forsake  their  old  pagan  habits  and  become  Christians ; 
telling  them  that  now,  as  they  were  making  treaties  and  entering 
upon  a  new  way  of  obtaining  a  living,  they  should  adopt  the 
religion  of  the  great  Book. 

With  them  we  sang  a  hymn,  and  then  kneeled  down  and 
prayed.  Devoutly  and  reverently  did  they  bow  with  us  at  the 
Mercy-seat.  When  we  rose  up  from  our  knees,  a  young  man 
spoke  up  on  behalf  of  the  young  people.  He  said  they  were  glad 
I  had  come,  and  hoped  I  would  come  again.  Their  minds  were 
dark ;  would  I  soon  come  back  and  bring  in  the  light  ? 

I  said  all  I  could  to  encourage  them  to  seek  after  the  great 
Light,  and  promised  to  come  again.  We  harnessed  up  our  dogs, 
and,  in  company  with  my  attendant  Indians,  I  started  for  home. 
A  wild  blizzard  storm  came  down  upon  us  from  the  north  when 
we  were  far  out  from  land.  We  toiled  on  through  it  as  well  as 
we  could,  although  at  times  unable  to  see  a  dozen  feet  ahead  of 
is.  Often  we  got  bewildered  by  its  fury,  as  it  seemed  to  circle 
<md  eddy  around  us ;  but  Jack  was  in  the  foremost  train,  and 


BIG   TOM'S  SELF-SACRIFICE.  249 

BO  we  safely  reached  the  other  shore,  and  did  not  for  many  a 
day  cease  to  think  about  some  of  the  strange  features  of  this 
adventurous  trip,  in  which  in  after  years  we  found  much  real 
good  had  been  done. 

As  we  have  been  referring  to  treaties  and  the  excitement  there 
was  in  the  minds  of  the  Indians  in  reference  to  the  new  relation- 
ship in  which  they  would  stand  to  the  Government,  it  may  be  well 
here  to  put  upon  record  the  noble  spirit  of  one  of  our  Indians,  on 
whom  honours  were  desired  to  be  conferred  by  his  people. 

When  the  Dominion  Government  of  Canada  took  possession 
of  the  territories  so  long  held  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
they  began  to  make  arrangements  for  treaties  with  all  the  Indian 
tribes.  Word  came  out  to  us  at  Rossville  Mission  House,  that 
the  Government  wished  the  Indians  to  elect  one  of  their  number 
as  chief,  with  whom  they  could  make  a  treaty,  and  whom  they 
could  confer  with  if  difficulties  arose  in  the  future.  They  wished 
the  people  to  select  a  wise,  judicious  man,  in  whom  all  confidence 
could  be  placed. 

Naturally  the  Indians  were  very  much  excited  at  this  new 
order  of  things,  and  so  there  were  many  councils  and  much 
speech-making.  A  good  deal  of  curiosity  was  expressed  to  know 
what  benefits  would  result,  and  how  much  money  would  be 
received  by  each  of  them.  While  there  was  still  much  uncertainty 
about  these  things,  it  had  become  well  known  that  the  one 
selected  to  be  chief  would  fare  very  well.  He  would  have  more 
money  and  presents  than  any  other.  He  would  be  presented 
with  a  silver  medal  with  the  face  of  the  "Great  Mother,"  the 
Queen,  upon  it,  and  would  be  honoured  with  the  personal  friend- 
ship of  the  Governor,  and  with  other  honours  naturally  dear  to 
the  Indian. 

After  many  councils  the  people  came  to  the  almost  unanimous 
conclusion  that  Big  Tom  should  be  their  chief.  In  a  full  council, 
with  much  ceremony,  they  offered  him  the  position.  Instead  of 
seizing  the  proffered  honours  with  avidity,  his  face  became  very 
grave,  and  it  was  evident  he  was  full  of  suppressed  emotloT 
When  he  arose,  as  all  supposed,  to  indicate  his  acceptance  J  >ne 


260  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

position,  and  to  express  his  thanks,  they  were  very  much  surprised 
to  hear  him  quietly  say  that  he  could  not  answer  fully  now,  bu*. 
desired  a  day  to  think  it  over.  So  he  asked  the  council  to  adjourn 
until  the  following  morning. 

Of  course  this  request  was  complied  with,  and,  full  of  curiosity, 
the  people  thronged  the  building  the  next  day.  I  had  naturally 
taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  matter,  as,  next  to  their  spiritual 
interests,  I  was  anxious  to  do  all  I  could  for  their  temporal 
welfare.  So  1  attended  many  of  their  meetings.  The  council 
was  opened  in  due  form,  and  then  Big  Tom  arose  to  give  his 
answer.  He  began  quietly  and  slowly,  but  warmed  up  a  good 
deal  before  he  ended. 

He  spoke,  in  substance,  as  follows  : — 

"  Long  ago,  when  the  Missionaries  came  and  preached  to  us, 
for  a  time  we  refused  to  listen  to  them,  and  would  not  become 
Christians.  Then,  after  a  while,  many  of  us  who  had  been  in 
the  darkness  began  to  feel  in  our  hearts  that  what  they  told  us 
was  for  our  good ;  and  so  we  accepted  of  these  things,  and  they 
have  done  us  good.  When  I  got  the  assurance  in  my  heart  that 
I  was  a  child  of  God,  and  had  a  soul  that  should  live  for  ever,  I 
found  that  in  working  out  its  salvation  I  had  something  great 
to  live  for.  To  do  this  was  the  great  object  of  my  life.  By-and- 
by  I  married,  and  then,  as  my  family  increased  and  began  to 
grow  up  around  me,  I  found  I  had  another  object  for  which 
to  live.  To  help  them  along  in  the  way  to  heaven,  as  well  as 
to  work  for  their  comfort  here,  was  my  second  great  work. 
Then,  after  a  while,  the  Missionary  gave  me  the  charge  of  a  class. 
I  was  to  meet  with  them,  and  we  were  to  talk  together  about 
our  souls  and  God's  love  to  us,  and  to  do  all  we  could  to  help 
each  other  on  to  the  better  land.  To  do  my  duty  as  the  leader 
was  a  great  and  important  work.  While  attending  to  these 
duties,  I  found  I  had  another  object  for  which  to  live.  These 
three  things, — 1.  My  own  soul's  salvation;  2.  The  salvation  of 
my  family;  and  3.  To  do  all  I  can  to  help  and  encourage  the 
members  of  my  class  to  be  true  and  faithful  to  Him  Who  died 
for  us,  that  we  may  see  Him  by-and-by, — are  the  uppermost 
things  in  my  heart. 


ALL   FOR    CHRIST.  251 

"  I  am  thankful  for  your  confidence  in  me  in  asking  me  to  be 
your  chief.  I  know  it  is  a  great  honour,  but  1  see  it  will  have 
many  responsibilities,  and  that  whoever  has  the  position  will 
have  to  attend  to  many  other  things  than  those  which  I  have  my 
mind  set  upon.  So  you  must  appoint  some  one  else,  for  with 
those  three  things  I  cannot  let  anything  else  interfere.  I  thank 
you,  my  brothers,  and  love  you  all." 

In  this  strain  he  went  on  for  a  long  while,  and  then  sat 
down.  No  one  thought  any  the  less  of  the  noble  Christian 
man ;  and  David  Rundle,  who  was  appointed,  ever  found  in  Big 
Tom  a  wise  and  judicious  counsellor  and  friend.  I  was  thrilled 
by  the  address  and  the  spirit  manifested.  How  few  white  men 
in  like  circumstances  would  have  had  gracf  and  self-denial 
enough  to  have  acted  in  a  similar  manner! 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  MISSION  AMONG  THE  SAULTEAUX  ESTABLISHED — NELLY'S  DEATH— 
MISSIONAKY  ANNIVERSARIES  ATTENDED— REV.  THOMAS  CROSBY- 
TRAVELLING  ADVENTURES — MORE  WORKING  WITH  DOGS — OUB  NEW 
HOME— VISIT  FROM  A  CHIEFTAINESS— CLOSING  WORDS. 

AFTER  a  great  deal  of  correspondence  it  was  decided  that 
I  should  begin  the  work  at  Beren's  River  among  the 
Saulteaux  Indians  who  lived  there,  and  in  little  bands  scattered 
along  the  eastern  shores  of  that  great  lake,  and  in  the  interior, 
most  of  them  in  extreme  poverty  and  superstitious  degradation. 
A  few  of  them,  as  the  result  of  acquaintance  with  our  Christian 
Indians  of  other  places,  were  groping  after  the  great  Light,  and 
trying  to  lift  themselves  up  socially  in  life. 

The  Rev.  John  H.  Ruttan  was  appointed  to  Norway  House, 
the  Rev.  Orrin  German  to  Oxford  House,  and  I  was  put  down 
for  Beren's  River. 

As  it  was  advisable  that  I  should  remain  at  Norway  House 
until  my  successor,  -Brother  Ruttan,  arrived,  and  as  there  was 
only  one  opportunity  for  a  long  time  for  Mrs.  Young  and  the 
children  to  return  to  Red  River,  they  availed  themselves  of  it, 
poor  and  miserable  as  it  was. 

With  loving  "  farewells "  I  wished  them  success  on  their 
journey,  and  saw  them  off.  Sandy  Harte,  our  adopted  Indian 
lad,  and  I  sailed  down  to  the  old  Norway  House,  about  twenty 
miles  from  our  home,  and  there  saying  "  Good  bye,"  we  returned 
to  our  lonely  home. 

Mrs.  Young  had  with  her  our  three  darling  children,  Eddie, 
Lilian,  and  Nelly.  All  were  well  and  full  of  the  best  of  spirits 


NELLY'S   DEATH.  253 

as  the  sail  was  hoisted,  and  we  saw  them  glide  away  before  the 
favouring  gale.  Precious  Nelly  we  never  saw  again.  So  terrible 
was  the  heat,  and  so  miserable  were  the  accommodations  in  that 
little  open  boat,  without  deck  or  awning  or  cabin,  that  the  child 
sickened  and  died. 

As  we  have  referred  to  this  sad  event  in  an  earlier  chapter,  we 
need  not  dwell  upon  it  here.  What  the  poor  mother  felt  and 
suffered  as,  sick  herself,  she  saw  her  beautiful  child  attacked  by 
brain  fever,  and  then  droop  and  die  amidst  surroundings  so  sad 
and  trying,  can  be  realised  by  but  few.  God  knows  all  about  it. 
As  mentioned,  the  venerable  Archdeacon  Cowley's  sympathy  did 
much  to  raise  up  Mrs.  Young's  crushed  spirits  and  dry  her  bitter 
tears. 

I  remained  at  Norway  House  until  Brothers  Rufctan  and  German 
arrived ;  and  then,  after  having  spent  a  Sabbath  with  them,  and 
seen  Mr.  Ruttan  and  his  noble  young  wife  cheerfully '  and  hope- 
fully entered  upon  their  blessed  work  among  the  people,  to  whom 
I  had  become  very  much  attached,  I  started  off  for  Beren's  River. 
Sandy  Harte,  the  Nelson  River  lad,  went  with  me  as  far  as  my 
first  camping  place,  and  spent  the  night  with  me.  We  read  the 
sacred  Word  together,  and  then,  after  singing  a  Hymn,  we 
bowed  in  prayer.  We  lay  down  together,  but  we  had  so  much 
to  say,  that  hours  passed  away  ere  we  slept. 

Early  the  next  morning  we  were  aroused  from  our  slumbers 
by  the  cry  of  "  Fair  wind,"  and  so  no  time  must  be  lost.  I  was 
very  much  surprised  to  find  that  during  the  night  some  scores 
of  Indians  had  come  on  in  their  canoes  from  the  Mission,  although 
it  was  many  miles  away,  to  shake  hands  with  their  Missionary 
once  more,  and  say  a  final  "  Farewell."  - 

After  a  hasty  breakfast  we  assembled  on  the  shore  for 
prayers.  We  sang  in  Cree  a  favourite  hymn: 

"Jesus,  my  All,  to  heaven  is  gone, 
He  Whom  I  fix  my  hopes  upon. 
His  path  I  see,  and  I'll  pursue 
The  narrow  way  till  Him  I  view." 

We  closed  by  singing  the  Doxology,  and  then,  after  prayers, 
I  sadly  said  "  Good-bye,"  and  shook  hands  again  with  them  all. 


254  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

I  found  it  hard  to  break  away  from  them.  Many  of  them  were 
in  tears,  who  seldom  wept  before.  Coming  to  my  beloved  Sandy 
last,  I  put  my  arm  around  his  neck  and  kissed  him  as  there  he 
stood,  weeping  as  though  his  heart  would  break.  With  a  "  God 
bless  you  all,"  I  sprang  into  the  boat,  which  was  quickly  pushed 
off  from  the  shore,  and  then  the  long  journey  to  the  land  of  the 
Saulteaux  was  begun. 

After  some  of  the  usual  incidents  of  travel  I  reached  Beren's 
Ptiver,  and  was  most  enthusiastically  received  by  the  Indians. 
The  man  who  had  said,  "  Our  eyes  were  dim  from  long  watching," 
now  said  that  they  were  dim  with  tears  of  joy  that  he  had  lived 
to  see  the  day  when  a  Missionary  of  their  own  lived  among  them. 
As  I  was  to  leave  before  the  lake  froze  up,  every  day  was  precious. 
I  pitched  a  canvas  tent,  and  in  it  lived  for  several  weeks.  All 
assembled  once  every  week-day  for  religious  worship,  and  then, 
when  that  was  over,  the  Missionary  and  men  took  off  their  coats  and 
went  to  work.  The  spot  for  the  Mission  was  decided  upon,  and 
then  acre  after  acre  of  the  forest  from  this  place,  and  also  from 
where  each  Indian  had  decided  to  build,  was  rapidly  being  cleared 
of  the  forest  trees.  We  held  three  services  every  Lord's  day,  and 
saw  that  the  school  for  the  children  was  faithfully  kept  up. 

Getting  everything  in  good  shape,  and  leaving  Martin  Papanekis, 
a  devout  and  trusty  Christian  Indian  from  the  Norway  House 
Mission,  in  charge,  I  started  in  a  birch  canoe,  with  Big  Tom  as 
principal  canoe-man,  for  Red  River. 

Of  our  adventures  and  dangers  I  need  not  writej  although 
there  were  several  on  that  long  journey  in  such  a  frail  craft. 
One  complete  upset  chilled  me  most  thoroughly,  as  the  water  was 
about  down  to  freezing  point.  At  one  place,  where  we  tried  to 
push  on  all  night,  we  were  tantalised  by  some  most  brilliant 
"  Will-o'-the-wisp  "  lights,  which  our  experienced  Indians  thought 
were  decoy  signals  put  out  by  wicked  Indians  to  bewilder  or 
injure  us.  Canoe  travelling  on  this  great  lake  is  risky  busi- 
ness. The  storms  come  up  with  surprising  rapidity,  and  the 
waves  rise  up  like  those  of  the  ocean.  However,  we  had  a  good 
canoe,  and  Big  Tom  was  in  charge ;  and  He  Who  holds  the  winds 
and  the  waves  in  His  fists  was  our  Father  and  our  Friend. 


MISSIONARY  MEETINGS.  255 

At  Red  River  I  called  on  the  Rev.  Archdeacon  Cowley  at  his 
Indian  Mission  home.  Very  cordial  and  sympathetic  was  he, 
as  I  introduced  myself,  and  told  him  I  had  come  to  accept  of  his 
kind  offer,  and  seek  in  some  part  of  the  quiet  graveyard  of 
his  Mission  Church  a  little  place  where  I  could  bury  the  body 
of  my  darling  child.  He  at  once  went  with  me  and  showed  me 
all  kindness  and  help,  as  also  did  Mr.  Flett  and  his  family,  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  Service.  As  we  laid  away  the  beauti- 
ful child,  and  the  solemn  words,  "  Earth  to  earth,  dust  to  dust," 
were  uttered,  we  felt  that  there  was  now  an  additioual  tie  holding 
us  to  that  country  and  work. 

In  due  time  I  reached  Toronto,  and  there  met  the  Missionary 
Secretaries,  and  obtained  from  them  an  outline  of  the  work  before 
me.  Here  it  was  my  great  joy  to  meet  for  the  first  time  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Crosby,  the  energetic  and  successful  Missionary 
from  British  Columbia,  who  has  been  wonderfully  owned  of  God 
in  his  glorious  work.  Uncalled  by  any  Church,  but  impelled 
by  the  good  Spirit,  shortly  after  his  conversion  he  made  his 
way  to  British  Columbia  at  his  own  expense,  and  offered  himself 
to  one  of  the  Missionaries  there  as  a  volunteer  teacher  among  the 
poor,  neglected  Indians,  who,  uncared  for  by  any  one,  were 
prowling  around  the  cities  and  towns  of  that  new  Province, 
living  lives  of  shame  and  sin.  Great  indeed  was  his  success. 

He  has  also  established  nourishing  Missions  at  Fort  Simpson 
and  elsewhere  in  the  north  of  that  land,  and  through  his  labours 
a  blessed  work  began  among  the  Indians  in  Alaska.  Some  of 
them,  hearing  wonderful  stories  about  the  black-coated  man  and 
his  mysterious  Book,  came  hundreds  of  miles,  that  they  might 
have  their  curiosity  satisfied.  They  returned  with  more  than 
they  anticipated.  They  reached  the  Mission,  and  from  Mr. 
Crosby,  and  also  from  some  of  their  own  tribes  who  lived  there, 
they  heard  the  "  old,  old  story "  for  the  first  time  in  their  lives. 
It  was  indeed  wonderful  news  to  them,  but  they  accepted  it  witli 
a  simple  faith  that  was  pleasing  to  God,  and  brought  into  their 
hearts  the  consciousness  of  His  smile  and  benediction.  Rejoicing 
in  this  new-found  treasure  they  returned  to  their  own  land,  and 
there  they  published  the  glad  tidings  of  God's  love,  and  added  the 


256  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

testimony  of  their  own  personal  experience  that  they  had  a  new 
joy  in  their  hearts,  the  result  of  their  having  accepted  this 
Saviour.  Great  indeed  was  the  excitement  among  the  people. 
Some  mocked,  and  some  opposed  and  tried  to  persecute,  but  many 
were  affected  by  what  their  companions  had  brought  them,  and 
believing  their  testimony  entered  into  their  joy. 

Of  course  the  new  converts  could  give  but  little  instruction ; 
and  so,  as  the  work  proceeded,  it  was  decided  that  a  deputation 
must  go  for  the  Missionary  and  bring  him  into  their  land.  Mr. 
Crosby  responded,  and  went  over  to  Alaska,  and  spent  some  time 
among  them.  God  blessed  his  labours,  and  many  of  the  Indians 
gave  up  their  paganism  and  became  Christians.  Convinced  that 
a  grand  opening  was  here  for  Missionary  triumph,  Mr.  Crosby 
wrote  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Mission  Rooms,  New  York, 
urging  the  officials  there  to  enter  this  open  door  and  begin 
work  here.  The  answer  was  that  it  was  impossible ;  that  their 
other  fields  absorbed  all  their  income,  and  so  there  was  no  pro- 
spect of  their  being  able  to  respond  to  his  appeal. 

Not  to  be  discouraged  very  easily,  Mr.  Crosby  next  wrote  to  the 
Presbyterian  Board  at  Philadelphia,  and  told  of  these  poor  sheep 
in  the  wilderness  ;  and  here,  thank  God,  he  met  with  success, 
and  there  was  a  glad  response;  and  the  successful  Presbyterian 
Missions  and  Indian  Schools  in  that  land  to-day  are  the  out- 
growth of  that  work. 

In  company  with  this  heroic  Brother  Crosby,  who  had  so  much 
to  tell,  I  spent  several  months  in  attending  Missionary  Meetings. 
We  had  blessed  times.  Immense  crowds  came  out  to  hear  us, 
and,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  the  increase  in  the  Missionary  income 
that  year  was  the  greatest  in  its  history.  In  all,  we  attended 
eighty-nine  Missionary  Anniversary  Services  in  different  Canadian 
towns  and  cities  between  Sarnia  and  Quebec. 

A  very  happy  week  was  spent  with  my  family  at  "  Oaklands," 
Toronto,  the  beautiful  residence  of  the  Honourable  Senator 
Macdonald,  the  Lay  Treasurer  of  our  Missionary  Society.  Of 
Senator  Macdonald's  great  kindness,  and  tangible  evidences  of 
sympathy,  neither  few  nor  slight,  if  I  should  here  write,  I  should 
only  be  mentioning  what  scores  of  Ministers  and  Missionarie 


RETURN  TO   THE   WILD  NORTH  LAND.          ''    267 

could  say  had  been  their  own  fortunate  experiences  with  this 
large-hearted  philanthropist.  Eternity  alone  will  be  able  to 
reveal  the  full  measure  of  what,  with  a  glad  heart,  he  has  been 
constantly  and  unostentatiously  doing  for  many  of  Christ's 
ambassadors,  and  among  the  different  Churches. 

As  soon  as  the  season  for  holding  Missionary  Meetings  ended, 
I  returned  to  my  Indian  work.  I  left  the  Province  of  Ontario  on 
the  6th  of  April,  and  reached  Beren's  River  after  twenty-three 
days  of  continuous  travelling.  On  the  railroads  in  Minnesota  and 
Dacota  we  were  detained  by  snowdrifts,  which  so  blocked  up  our 
way  that  we  had  some  very  unpleasant  experiences.  After 
leaving  the.  railroad  I  had  to  travel  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
in  a  stage  on  runners  over  the  snowy  prairies.  We  had  some 
blizzards  to  encounter,  and  one  night,  when  we  were  fortunate 
enough  to  have  reached  one  of  the  stopping  places,  the  storm 
raged  like  a  hurricane.  The  house  was  built  of  logs,  and  not 
well  finished,  and  the  snow  sifted  in  through  the  wide  cracks 
between  these  logs  and  on  to  our  beds.  My  experiences  in  wintry 
camps  served  me  a  good  purpose  now,  and  so  pulling  up  the  hood 
of  my  overcoat,  and  then  completely  covering  myself  up  under 
the  bedclothes,  I  slept  soundly  through  the  raging  storm  and 
driving  snow.  When  we  were  called  up  to  eat  a  hasty  breakfast 
and  resume  our  journey,  I  found  several  inches  of  snow  on  the 
top  of  my  bed,  but  I  had  suffered  no  inconvenience  from  it.  With 
my  travelling  companions  in  the  other  beds  it  was  very  different. 
The  upper  storey,  in  which  our  beds  were  placed,  was  all  one 
room,  and  so  the  snow  had  equally  assailed  us  all.  But,  not 
being  able  to  sleep  with  their  heads  completely  covered  up,  they 
had  suffered  much,  and  were  in  anything  but  an  amiable  mood 
when  we  resumed  our  journey. 

At  Winnipeg  I  was  cordially  welcomed  by  my  beloved  Chairman, 
the  Rev.  George  Young,  who  had  ever  taken  the  deepest  interest 
in  my  work,  and  done  all  he  could  to  add  to  our  comfort  and 
efficiency  in  its  prosecution.  Fortunate  indeed  were  we,  poor 
Missionaries  in  the  interior,  whether  it  was  north  or  west,  that 
we  had  such  a  man  to  look  after  our  supplies,  and  see  that  we 
were  not  cheated  or  swindled  by  those  who  once  a  year  sent  them 


258  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

out  to  the  poor  toilers  in  their  lonely  fields.  For  years  we  had 
no  money  in  our  northern  Missions.  Our  plan  was,  once  a  year 
fco  receive  from  Winnipeg  all  that  our  salary  would  purchase  for 
us  in  the  shape  of  supplies  that  were  needed  in  our  own  home, 
and  also  with  which  to  pay  teacher,  interpreter,  guides,  canoe- 
men,  dog-drivers,  and  others  who  might  be  employed  in  the 
prosecution  of  the  work. 

As  all  the  work  of  purchasing  and  packing  these  things 
depended  very  much  upon  the  Chairman,  fortunate  indeed  did 
all  of  us,  who  had  Dr.  Young  as  our  Chairman,  consider  ourselves 
to  be. 

My  dogs  and  Indians  were  waiting  for  me,  having  come  down 
from  the  north  to  meet  me,  as  arranged  months  before.  We 
purchased  our  supplies,  loaded  our  sleds,  and  away  we  started  by 
dog-train  on  the  last  part  of  the  long  journey.  We  had  left 
Toronto  in  a  splendid  railroad  carriage  ;  we  ended  the  trip  of 
over  twenty  days'  duration  with  dog  sleds. 

Very  quickly  did  I  come  back  to  the  wild  life  of  the  North 
after  the  six  months  of  incessant  pleading  the  cause  of  the  Indians 
before  the  large  and  enthusiastic  audiences  in  our  towns  and  cities 
The  days  of  hard  and  rapid  travelling  over  the  frozen  surface  of 
Lake  Winnipeg, — the  bitter  cold  that  often  made  us  shiver  in 
spite  of  the  violent  exorcise  of  running, — the  intense  and  almost 
unbearable  pain  caused  by  the  reflection  of  the  brilliant  rays 
of  the  sun  upon  the  snowy  waste, — the  bed  in  the  hole  in  the 
snow  with  no  roof  above  us  but  the  star-decked  vault  of  heaven, 
— were  all  cheerfully  endured  again  and  successfully  passed 
through. 

Very  cordial  was  my  welcome  by  the  Saulteaux  at  my  new 
field.  I  was  very  much  gratified  to  find  that  they  had  had  a 
successful  winter,  and  that  those  left  in  charge  had  worked  faith- 
fully and  well.  A  little  log  house,  twelve  by  twenty-four  feet, 
had  been  put  up,  and  in  one  end  of  it  I  was  installed  as  my 
present  home.  My  apartment  was  just  twelve  feet  square,  but 
to  me  it  was  all-sufficient.  It  was  kitchen,  bedroom,  dining-room, 
study,  reception-room,  and  everything  else.  Two  of  my  grandest 
dogs,  Jack  and  CufFy,  shared  it  with  me  for  months,  and  we  had 


HARD   WORK  IN  THE  FORESTS. 


269 


a  happy  and  busy  time.  With  several  hard-working  Indians,  two 
of  them  being  Big  Tom  and  Martin  Papanekis  from  Norway 
House,  we  toiled  hard  at  getting  out  the  timber  and  logs  for  our 
new  church,  school-house,  and  parsonage.  We  had  to  go  a 


TOILIKG  ALONG  ON  SNOW-SHOES  THROUGH  THE  WOODS. 

distance  of  twelve  or  fourteen  miles  over  the  frozen  lake  ere  we 
reached  the  large  island  on  which  we  found  timber  sufficient] 
large  for  our   purpose.     Here  we  worked  as  hard  as  possible. 
Often  we  had  to  go  in  miles  from  the  shore  to  find  what  we 


260  BY   CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

wanted.  To  make  our  work  more  difficult,  we  found  but  few 
large  trees  growing  close  together.  So,  for  nearly  every  large 
stick  of  timber,  we  had  to  make  a  new  trail  through  the  deep 
snow  to  the  lake.  The  snow  was  from  three  to  four  feet  deep. 
The  under-brush  was  thick,  and  the  fallen  trees  were  numerous. 
Yet  under  these  discouragements  we  worked.  We  cut  down  the 
trees,  measured  them,  squared  them,  and  got  them  ready  for 
their  places.  Then  we  hitched  one  end  on  a  strong  dog  sled,  and 
attached  one  dog  to  this  heavy  load.  How  four  dogs  could  drag 
these  heavy  sticks  of  timber  was  indeed  surprising.  The  principal 
pieces  were  thirty-six  feet  long  and  ten  inches  square.  Yet  my 
gallant  St.  Bernards  and  Newfoundlands  would  take  these  heavy 
loads  along  at  a  rate  that  was  astounding.  We  had  thirty-two 
dogs  at  work,  and  rapidly  did  our  piles  of  timber  and  logs  accumu- 
late. 

Dressed  as  one  of  the  natives,  with  them  I  toiled  incessantly 
for  the  material  upbuilding  of  the  Mission.  We  had  delightful 
services  every  Sabbath.  Nearly  every  Indian  within  some  miles 
of  the  place  attended,  and  good  results  were  continually  cheering 
our  hearts.  Although  it  was  so  late  in  the  season  when  I 
arrived,  yet  there  was  not,  for  weeks  after,  any  sign  of  the  spring, 
except  in  the  lengthening  days  and  increasingly  brilliant  sun. 
For  a  long  time  the  vast  snowy  wastes  remained  crisp  and  hard. 
Very  glorious  was  the  atmosphere,  for  there  were  no  fogs,  no 
mists,  no  damps.  The  sky  seemed  always  cloudless,  the  air  was 
always  clear. 

Nearly  every  morning  during  those  weeks  of  hard  toil  we 
were  treated  to  the  strange  sights  which  the  beautiful  and  vivid 
mirage  brought  to  us.  Islands  and  headlands,  scores  of  miles 
away,  were  lifted  up  from  below  the  horizon,  and  shown  to  us  as 
distinctly  as  though  close  at  hand.  With  but  few  exceptions  our 
nights  also  were  very  glorious,  especially  when  the  Northern 
Lights,  taking  this  vast  Lake  Winnipeg  as  their  field  of  action, 
held  one  of  their  grand  carnivals.  Generally  beginning  in  the  far 
north,  with  majestic  sweep  they  came  marching  on,  filling  the  very 
heavens  with  their  coloured  bars,  or  flashing,  ever-changing,  yet 
always  beautiful  clouds  of  brightness  and  glory.  Sometimes  they 


OUR  NEW  MISSION  ESTABLISHED.  261 

would  form  a  magnificent  corona  at  the  zenith,  and  from  its 
dazzling  splendour  would  shoot  out  long  columns  of  different 
coloured  lights,  which  rested  upon  the  far-off  frozen  shores.  Often 
have  I  seen  a  cloud  of  light  flit  swiftly  across  these  tinted  bars, 
as  if  a  hand  were  sweeping  the  strings  of  some  grand  harp.  So 
startling  was  the  resemblance,  that  there  was  an  instinctive 
listening  for  the  sound  that  we  used  to  think  ought  to  come. 
Sometimes  I  have  suddenly  stopped  my  dogs  and  men,  when  we 
have  been  travelling  amidst  these  fascinating  and  almost  bewilder- 
ing glories  of  the.  heavens  above  us,  and  we  have  listened  for  that 
rustling  sound  of  celestial  harmony  which  some  Arctic  travellers 
have  affirmed  they  have  heard,  and  which  it  seemed  to  me  so 
evident  that  we  ought  to  hear.  But  although  for  years  I  have 
watched  and  listened,  amidst  the  death  stillness  of  these  snowy 
wastes,  no  sounds  have  I  ever  heard.  Amidst  all  their  flashing 
and  changing  glories  these  resplendent  beauties  ever  seemed  to 
me  as  voiceless  as  the  stars  above  them. 

When  spring  arrived,  and  with  its  open  water  came  our  first 
boats,  we  brought  out  from  Red  River  a  quantity  of  building 
material  and  two  experienced  carpenters.  Then  actively  went  on 
the  work  of  building  a  Mission  House,  and  also  a  large  school- 
house,  which  for  a  time  was  to  serve  as  a  church  also.  We  called 
it  "  the  Tabernacle,"  and  for  a  good  while  it  served  its  double 
purpose  admirably. 

Leaving  the  carpenters  and  Indians  at  work,  I  went  into  the 
then  small  village  of  Winnipeg  for  Mrs.  Young  and  our  two  little 
children,  who  were  now  returning  from  Ontario,  where  they  had 
remained  among  friends,  until  T,  who  had  so  long  preceded  them, 
should  have  some  kind  of  a  habitation  prepared  for  them  in  the 
wilderness.  For  weeks  we  had  to  live  in  my  little  twelve-by- 
twelve  log-cabin.  It  was  all  right  in  cold  or  dry  weather,  but  as 
its  construction  was  peculiar,  it  failed  us  most  signally  in  times  of 
rain  and  wet.  The  roof  was  made  of  poplar  logs,  laid  up  against 
the  roof  pole,  and  then  covered  very  thickly  with  clay.  When 
this  hardened  and  dried,  it  was  a  capital  roof  against  the  cold ; 
but  when  incessant  rains  softened  it,  and  the  mud  in  great  pieces 


26*  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN. 

fell  through  upon  bed,  or  table,  or  stove,  or  floor,  it  was  not 
luxurious  or  even  comfortable  living.  One  morning  we  found 
that  during  the  night  a  mass,  weighing  over  five  pounds,  had 
fallen  at  the  feet  of  our  youngest  child,  as  she,  unconscious  of 
danger,  slept  in  a  little  bed  near  us.  However,  after  a  while,  we 
got  into  our  new  house,  and  great  were  our  rejoicings  to  find  our- 
selves comfortably  settled,  and  ready  for  undivided  attention  to 
the  blessed  work  of  evangelisation. 

While  there  was  a  measure  of  prosperity,  yet  the  Mission  did 
not  advance  as  rapidly  as  I  had  hoped  it  would.  My  hopes  had 
been  that  the  surplus  population  at  Norway  House  would  have 
settled  there,  and  that  many  from  the  interior  directly  east 
would,  as  they  had  stated,  come  out  and  help  to  build  up  the 
Mission. 

Opposition  in  various  quarters  arose,  and  the  Norway  House 
Crees  preferred  to  go  farther  south  ;  and  finally  seventy  families 
preferred  that  place,  and  there  they  have  formed  a  flourishing 
additional  Mission.  Thus  the  work  advanced,  although  not  all 
along  the  lines  which  some  of  us  had  marked  out.  With  patient 
endurance  my  noble  wife  and  I  toiled  on.  There  was  room  for 
the  exercise  of  the  graces  of  courage,  and  hope,  and  faith,  and 
patience ;  but  a  measure  of  success  was  ever  ours,  and  we  saw 
signs  of  progress,  and  had  every  now  and  then  some  clear  and 
remarkable  cases  of  conversion  from  the  vilest  degradation  and 
superstition  into  a  clear  and  conscious  assurance  of  Heaven's 
favour  and  smile. 

One  summer  there  came  from  the  east  to  visit  us  a  chfeftainess 
with  several  of  her  followers.  Her  husband  had  been  the  chief 
of  his  people,  and  when  he  died  she  assumed  his  position,  and 
maintained  it  well.  Her  home  was  several  days'  journey  away 
in  the  interior,  but  she  had  heard  of  the  Missionary  who  had 
come  to  live  among  the  Saulteaux  and  teach  them  out  of  the 
great  Book.  Was  not  she  a  Saulteaux,  and  had  not  she  a 
right  to  know  of  this  new  way,  about  which  so  much  was  being 
said?  With  these  thoughts  in  her  mind  she  came  to  see  us. 
When  she  came  to  the  Mission,  we  saw  very  quickly  that  here 
was  an  interesting  woman.  We  had  several  interviews,  and 


VISIT  OF  A    CHIEFTIANESS.  263 

Mrs.  Young  and  myself  did  all  we  could  to  lead  this  candid, 
inquiring  mind  into  the  right  way.  Before  she  left  I  gave  her 
a  sheet  of  foolscap  paper,  and  a  long  lead  pencil,  and  showed 
her  how  to  keep  her  reckoning  as  to  the  Sabbath  day.  I  had, 
among  many  other  lessons,  described  the  Sabbath  as  one  day 
in  seven  for  rest  and  worship ;  and  she  had  become  very  much 
interested,  and  promised  to  try  to  keep  it. 

As  she  pushed  out  in  her  canoe  from  our  shore,  her  last 
importunate  request  was,  that  as  soon  as  possible  I  would  visit 
her  and  her  people  in  their  own  land.  So  many  were  my 
engagements  that  I  could  not  take  up  this  additional  one  until 
about  the  middle  of  the  winter  following.  When,  with  a  couple 
of  Indian  attendants,  with  our  dog-trains,  we  dashed  into  her 
village,  great  indeed  was  her  joy  at  seeing  us,  and  very  demon- 
strative was  the  welcome  given.  She  had  put  up  on  a  -staging 
outside  in  the  cold  a  couple  of  reindeer  heads,  keeping  them 
there  preserved  by  the  frost  until  I  should  arrive.  Very  quickly 
were  they  taken  down  to  cook.  The  hair  was  singed  off,  and 
then  they  were  cut  up  with  an  axe  into  pieces  weighing 
about  two  pounds  each.  Soon  they  were  in  the  pot,  boiling  for 
our  dinner.  I  furnished  some  tea,  and  while  everything  was 
being  got  ready  by  a  few,  the  rest  of  us  sat  down  and  talked. 
They  were  indeed  anxious  for  instruction  in  spiritual  things.  I 
read  and,  through  my  interpreter,  explained  truth  after  truth,  to 
which  they  gave  the  most  earnest  attention.  Then  we  stopped 
a  little  while,  that  we  might  have  dinner.  As  I  and  my  men  were 
the  guests  of  this  chieftainess  I  did  not  get  out  my  tin  plates, 
and  cups,  and  knives  and  forks,  but  sat  down  beside  her  in  her 
wigwam  with  the  rest  of  the  people,  completing  a  circle  around 
the  big  wooden  dish,  in  which  the  large  pieces  of  cooked  reindeer 
heads  had  been  thrown.  I  asked  a  blessing  on  the  food,  and 
then  dinner  began.  The  plan  was  for  each  person  to  help 
himself  or  herself  to  a  piece  of  the  meat,  holding  it  in  the 
hand,  and  using  hunting  knife  or  teeth,  or  both  together,  to  get 
off  the  pieces  and  eat  them. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  my  lady  friend  on  the  right,  this  chieftainess, 
had  very  dirty-looking  hands,  and  long,  strong,  brilliant  teeth. 


264  BY  CANOE  AND   DOG-TRAIN. 

She  took  her  piece  of  meat,  and,  turning  it  over  and  over  in  her 
hands,  began  tearing  and  cutting  at  it  in  a  way  that  was  not 
very  dainty,  but  extremely  otherwise.  After  biting  off  a  few 
mouthfuls,  she  threw  it  down  on  the  dirty  ground  of  the  wigwam 
before  her,  and,  inserting  one  of  her  greasy  hands  in  the  bosom 
of  her  dress,  she  pulled  out  a  large  piece  of  soiled  paper,  and, 
unfolding  it  before  me,  she  began  in  excited  tones  to  tell  me  how 
she  had  kept  the  tally  of  the  "  praying  days,"  for  thus  they 
style  the  Sabbath.  Greatly  interested  in  her  story,  and  in  her 
wild  joyous  way  of  describing  her  efforts  to  keep  her  record 
correct,  I  stopped  eating  and  looked  over  her  paper,  as  she 
talked  away.  Imagine  my  great  delight  to  find  that  through 
the  long  months  which  had  passed  since  I  had  given  her  that 
paper  and  pencil,  she  had  not  once  missed  her  record.  This 
day  was  Thursday,  and  thus  she  had  marked  it.  Her  plan 
had  been  to  make  six  short  marks,  and  then  a  longer  one  for 
Sunday. 

"  Missionary,"  she  said  very  earnestly,  "  sometimes  it  seemed 
as  though  I  would  fail.  There  were  times  when  the  ducks  or 
geese  came  very  near,  and  I  felt  like  taking  my  gun  and 
firing.  Then  I  remembered  that  it  was  the  praying  day,  and 
so  I  only  put  down  the  long  mark  and  rested.  I  have  not  set 
a  net,  or  caught  a  fish,  or  fired  a  gun,  on  the  praying  day  since 
I  heard  about  it  at  your  house  so  far  away." 

Of  course  I  was  delighted  at  all  this,  and  said  some  kind  words 
of  encouragement.  Then  we  resumed  our  dinner.  I,  had  my 
piece  of  meat  in  one  hand,  and  with  the  knife  in  the  other  was 
endeavouring  to  cut  off  the  pieces  and  eat  them.  The  good 
woman  replaced  the  precious  paper  and  pencil  in  her  bosom,  and 
then  picked  up  her  piece  of  meat  from  the  dirty  ground,  and, 
after  turning  it  over  and  over  in  her  hands,  began  with  her 
strong  teeth  to  tear  off  the  large  mouthfuls.  All  at  once  she 
stopped  eating,  and,  looking  intently  at  my  piece,  she  said,  "  Your 
piece  is  not  a  very  good  one,  mine  is  very  fine,"  and  before  I 
could  protest,  or  say  a  word,  she  quickly  exchanged  the  pieces ; 
and  from  her  portion,  which  she  put  in  my  hand,  I  had  to  finish 
my  dinner.  As  what  she  did  is  considered  an  act  of  great 


CLOSING    WORDS.  265 

kindness,  of  course  I  would  not  grieve  her  by  showing  any 
annoyance.  So  I  quietly  smothered  any  little  squeamishness 
that  might  naturally  have  arisen,  and  finished  my  dinner,  and 
then  resumed  the  religious  service.  Soon  after,  she  became  a 
decided  Christian. 

The  following  extracts  are  from  the  last  letter  which  I  sent 
to  the  Mission  Rooms,  ere,  owing  to  the  failure  of  Mrs.  Young's 
health,  we  left  the  land  of  the  Saulteaux  for  work  in  the 
Master's  Yineyard  elsewhere.  The  Mission  had  now  been  fully 
established,  a  comfortable  parsonage  built  and  well  furnished. 
A  large  school-house  had  been  erected,  which  answered  also  for 
the  religious  services  until  the  church  should  be  finished.  Many 
had  been  our  trials  and  hardships,  and  there  had  been  a  great 
deal  of  opposition,  much  of  it  from  places  not  expected.  But  to 
be  enabled  to  send  such  tidings  from  such  a  place,  where  I  had 
gone  as  the  first  Missionary,  and  among  such  a  wicked  and 
degraded  tribe  as  were  these  Saulteaux,  so  different  from  the 
more  peaceful  Crees,  caused  my  heart  to  rejoice,  that  He  Who 
had  permitted  me  to  go  and  sow  the  seed  had  also  given  me 
the  honour  of  seeing  some  golden  sheaves  gathered  in  for  the 
heavenly  garner : — 

"  Last  Sabbath  was  perhaps  the  most  interesting  and  en- 
couraging one  we  have  spent  on  the  Mission.  Our  place  of 
worship  was  crowded,  and  many  had  to  remain  outside.  Some 
of  the  old  Indians  who,  in  spite  of  our  pleadings,  had  clung  to 
their  paganism,  renounced  it  on  that  day  in  a  most  emphatic 
manner.  Seven  of  them,  after  being  questioned  as  to  their 
thorough  renunciation  of  their  old  superstitions,  and  as  to  then- 
present  faith  in  Christ,  were  then  and  tHere  baptized. 

"  At  the  afternoon  service  several  more  were  baptized ;  among 
them  an  old  man,  perhaps  seventy  years  of  age,  with  his  wife 
and  grandchild.  He  had  never  been  inside  a  Christian  sanctuary 
before.  He  had  just  arrived  from  the  vast  interior  eastward 
of  this  place,  the  country  I  visited  under  so  many  difficulties 
last  April. 

"  The  old  man  brought  down  with  him  the  Bible  and  hymn- 
book  which  I  had  given  him  months  ago.  He  stated  that 


268  BY  CANOE  AND  DOQ-TRAIN. 

although  he  could  not  read  them  very  well,  yet  he  kept  them 
close  to  him  by  day,  and  under  his  pillow  by  night,  and  tried  to 
keep  in  his  memory  all  he  had  heard  of  what  was  written  in 
them,  as  I  had  told  him. 

"  I  have  been  teaching  the  school  myself  for  months,  as  my 
faithful  teacher,  Timothy  Bear,  is  poorly.  Among  the  scholars  I 
have  none  more  attentive  than  the  old  man  and  his  wife.  Seated 
on  the  ground  with  the  Rev.  James  Evans'  Syllabic  Characters 
marked  out  with  a  pen  on  a  piece  of  paper  in  their  hands,  and 
the  open  Bible  on  the  grass  before  them,  they  are  striving  hard 
to  read  fluently  in  their  own  language  the  wonderful  works  of 
God. 

"If  this  old  man  had  presented  himself  for  baptism  a  little  better 
clothed,  we  should  have  been  pleased.  All  he  had  on  was  a  dirty 
cotton  shirt  and  a  pair  of  deer-skin  leggings.  However,  as  such 
fashions  occur  here,  his  appearance  created  no  remark,  but  all 
were  deeply  moved  at  his  coming  forward  and  so  emphatically 
renouncing  his  old  paganism. 

"The  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  on  the  same  day  was 
also  a  service  of  great  interest,  as  several  new  members,  baptized 
a  few  months  ago,  were  admitted  to  the  Lord's  Table  for  the  first 
time.  In  two  instances  the  decided  stand  for  Christ  taken  by  the 
women  has  led  to  the  conversion  of  their  husbands.  Until 
lately  they  were  careless,  reckless  men  ;  but  they  have  now  come 
and  declared  that  they  are  convinced  that  the  religion  of  their 
wives  is  better  than  the  old,  and  they  desire  to  have  it  too.  Thus 
the  work  goes  on ;  but  how  slowly  !  When  shall  the  time  arrive 
when  *  nations  shall  be  born  in  a  day  '  ?  Haste,  happy  day  1 " 

"  We  are  toiling  through  the  darkness,  but  our  eyes  behold  the  light 
That  is  mounting  up  the  eastern  sky  and  beating  back  the  night. 
JSoon  with  joy  we'll  hail  the  morning  when  our  Lord  will  come  in  might 
For  Truth  is  marching  on. 

"  He  will  come  in  glorious  majesty  to  sweep  away  all  wrong; 
He  will  heal  the  broken-hearted  and  will  make  His  people  strong ; 
He  will  teach  our  souls  His  righteousness,  our  hearts  a  glad  new  gong, 
For  Truth  is  marching  on. 


"TRUTH  IS  MARCHING    ON."  267 

M  He  is  calling  on  His  people  to  be  faithful,  prompt,  and  brave, 
To  uplift  again  the  fallen,  and  to  help  from  sin  to  save, 
To  devote  themselves  for  others,  as  Himself  for  them  He  gave, 
For  Truth  is  marching  on. 

14  Let  us  fight  against  the  evils  with  our  faces  towards  the  light ; 
God  is  looking  through  the  darkness,  and  He  watches  o'er  the  fight, 
And  His  joy  will  be  our  recompense,  His  triumph  crown  the  right, 
For  Truth  Is  marching  on." 


ffSIERN  BOOK 
«  TRACT  CO. 


